'Not a Victory, Just Time to Breathe': Unnao Survivor's Counsel Reacts as SC Stays Sengar Bail

New Delhi: The Supreme Court stayed the Delhi High Court's order suspending the life sentence of expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case of a minor on Monday.

Reacting to the apex court's decision, Mehmood Pracha, advocate for the Unnao rape survivor, said the stay has given the victim a brief pause but left serious concerns unaddressed. "I can assure the victims that we have got a small relief. This should not be called victory, but we have got a little time to breathe," Pracha said.

He criticised the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for limiting its arguments before the court and for not consulting the survivor's legal team. "CBI took a stand on a very limited point and did not raise our strongest grounds of argument. CBI did not consult us at all. There is so much evidence in favour of the victim that any court would give a verdict in her support," he said.

Pracha further asserted that the apex court had not examined the core merits of the case. "The court did not hear us on the main merits. CBI has just discussed the iceberg of the case; we have the entire matter with us. CBI did not make us a party in this case. We cannot treat this judgement as a victory for the victim," he added.

Expressing anguish over the survivor's situation, Pracha questioned whether the order truly amounted to relief. "I will leave it to the people of the country and the legal fraternity to gauge for themselves if this is a big respite for us. I would say no. Do you want me to be happy when the girl has been taken away by the CRPF? I don't even get a chance to speak to her about the order, so do you think I will be happy?" he said.

The Supreme Court's three-judge vacation bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.G. Masih, was hearing the CBI's plea challenging the Delhi High Court's December 23 order, which had suspended Sengar's life sentence pending appeal and granted him bail.

Staying the High Court's order, the apex court noted that Sengar remains in custody in another case. "We are informed that the convict is also convicted and sentenced under Section 304 (murder) of the IPC and that he is still in custody in that case. Considering such peculiar circumstances, we stay the operation of the impugned order. The respondent shall not be released," the bench observed.

The Supreme Court also issued notice to Sengar, seeking his response to the CBI's plea within two weeks. Sengar, a former Uttar Pradesh MLA, was convicted in December 2019 in the Unnao rape case and sentenced to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 25 lakh. Although he was granted bail by the High Court in the rape case, he continued to remain in jail, as he is serving a 10-year sentence in a separate CBI case related to murder. 

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