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A large number of people gathered outside Delhi High Court Protests over the granting of conditional bail to a former ruling party lawmaker jailed on rape charges reignited a debate about accountability for sexual crimes in India on Friday.
Kuldeep Singh Sengar, Former state MLA from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party was In December 2019, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a minor girl. This week, the High Court suspended his sentence pending his appeal against conviction. The order sparked criticism, protests and legal challenges amid renewed fears for the safety of survivors.
“This is injustice to our family,” the victim’s mother told reporters at the protest, according to news agency PTI.
“I am not blaming the entire High Court, but only the two judges whose judgments have broken our trust.”
He said his daughter has endured years of pain and the family will now move on Supreme Court“I have confidence in it,” he said,
The victim, now 24, said she felt “extremely unsafe” after the order. Citing a history of intimidation surrounding the case, he warned that the threats made by Sengar went beyond formal bail conditions. “He is a powerful man,” she said. “He’ll make his men do the dirty work for him.”
Recalling the 2019 car accident in which two of his relatives and his lawyer died, he said: “Senger himself did not do this. His henchmen did. Now that he is out, we are all unsafe.”
Sengar was convicted of kidnapping and raping the girl in Unnao district in northern Uttar Pradesh state in 2017.
The case gained national attention in 2018 after the victim attempted self-immolation outside Chief Minister Adityanath’s residence. His father died in police custody shortly afterwards,
In July 2019, two members of the victim’s family were killed and she and her lawyer were seriously injured in a road collision.
The truck which allegedly hit his car had a number plate on it. At the time, the police deployed for the victim’s security were not traveling with her, later claiming that there was no space in the car.
In view of these incidents, the Supreme Court ordered the transfer of the case from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi. It also directed that security be provided to the victim, her family and her lawyer and ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to pay an interim compensation of Rs 2.5 million to the victim.20,626).
In early 2020, Sengar and his co-accused were sentenced to 10 years in prison in a case related to their father’s custodial death.
The Delhi High Court suspended Sengar’s life sentence, saying he had already spent more than seven years in jail, which is more than the minimum sentence prescribed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, or POCSO, for rape by a non-public servant.
However, the court imposed conditions on Sengar’s bail, including that he not come within 5 km of the victim’s residence or threaten her or her mother.
It says that any violation of the conditions will automatically cancel the bail.
Despite the order, Sengar remains in jail as he is still serving his sentence in the custodial death case.
Outside the High Court on Friday, protesters held placards and raised slogans demanding an end to “protection for rapists”. A protestor asked why a person convicted of rape and linked to murder could get bail.
“On what basis was Kuldeep Sengar granted bail when it was declared that he had committed rape and murders?” the protestor told ANI news agency. “If he was given life imprisonment, why is he out? We demand that the rapist should go behind bars so that women feel safe.”
Yogita Bhayana, a women’s rights activist who supported the victim, said the verdict had shaken public confidence in the justice system. “Women across India are deeply hurt that the conviction of a rapist has been overturned,” Ms Bhayana was quoted as saying by ANI.
“It happened in this very court. Therefore, we will seek justice from the same place where the injustice took place.”
Tension escalated earlier this week when the victim and her mother attempted to stage a sit-in at India Gate, one of the most prominent intersections in the capital. Footage of him being dragged away by security personnel quickly spread on social media, drawing widespread condemnation. The victim’s mother later accused the police of ill-treatment and said that her daughters were taken in a vehicle and dropped off elsewhere.
“His bail should be rejected,” the mother said at the time. “We will knock on the doors of the Supreme Court. We have lost faith in the High Court.”
“If we do not get justice in the Supreme Court, we will move to another country,” he said in a statement highlighting the family’s despair.
The victim’s sister said that if Sengar is being released, “then put us in jail too. At least we will be safe there.”
“He had murdered my uncle, my father. He has been released but danger is looming over us and our family. Who knows, as soon as he gets out, he will wipe out our entire family,” he alleged.
“My sister is unhappy. If anything happens to us, will the court take responsibility? If so, then it is fine. We have small children, our brother is there. His men keep threatening us.”
The bail order has also reopened a complex legal debate over how the law defines “public servant”.
The High Court relied on a long-standing interpretation that elected representatives such as MPs and MLAs were not considered public servants under the relevant criminal laws, which is a technical distinction that carries major sentencing consequences.
Under POCSO, rape of a child by an officer or public servant carries a harsher minimum punishment than rape by a “normal person”.
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation, a federal agency, announced that it will challenge the bail order in the Supreme Court by filing a special leave petition.
A spokesperson said the agency has studied the judgment and will approach the top court as soon as possible.