CBI moves Supreme Court challenging Kuldeep Sengar's relief in Unnao rape case

The Special Leave Petition (SLP) seeks to overturn the lower court’s decision to suspend Sengar’s life sentence during the pendency of his appeal against conviction. Sengar had earlier approached the Delhi High Court challenging the life imprisonment awarded by a trial court in December 2019, Live Law reported.

Despite the bail order, Sengar will remain in jail, as he is serving a separate 10-year sentence for the custodial death of the rape survivor’s father.

Amid growing political fallout, the Unnao survivor and her mother met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday evening, hours after the elderly woman was reportedly manhandled by Central paramilitary personnel during a protest against the High Court’s relief to Sengar.

The meeting took place at 10 Janpath, residence of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was also present. Rahul Gandhi, returning from Germany a day earlier, reportedly discussed the matter with the family for over an hour, NDTV quoted sources as saying.

Gandhi assured the survivor and her family that the matter would be escalated and that the Congress party would extend all possible assistance to help them seek justice.

The survivor and her mother have been protesting the Delhi High Court’s decision granting interim relief to Sengar, who has appealed his conviction in the 2017 rape case. The order allows him to remain out of jail until the appeal is decided.

The High Court’s decision has sparked a major political row, with the Opposition sharply criticising the Centre and raising concerns over the treatment of the survivor. Reacting to the order, the survivor described it as “completely shocking” and said years of struggle had ended in deep disappointment.

“We have gone so many years back and forth with the judiciary and this is what the outcome is? We only want one thing — justice. We will appeal to the Supreme Court,” she said.

After meeting Rahul Gandhi, the survivor reiterated her faith in the Supreme Court and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing her desire to meet him.

During the meeting, the family reportedly made three demands:

1. Legal support from a senior lawyer for the Supreme Court case

2. Relocation to a Congress-ruled state citing safety concerns

3. Employment for the survivor’s husband

According to reports, Gandhi agreed to assist on all three fronts.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi took to X to question the treatment of the survivor, asking in Hindi:

“Is such treatment of a gang rape victim justified? Bail for rapists and treating survivors like criminals — what kind of justice is this? With such inhuman incidents, we are not only becoming a dead economy, but also a dead society.”

The latest controversy follows disturbing visuals from Wednesday morning showing the survivor and her mother being detained by CRPF personnel near India Gate.

The family had planned to address the media at Mandi House, but the bus transporting them did not stop. The CRPF later stated that permission to protest had not been granted.

Videos showed the elderly woman attempting to get down as personnel allegedly pushed her from the moving bus, while the bus drove away with her daughter still inside.

The incident has intensified public outrage, adding fresh pressure on the Centre and law enforcement agencies over both the High Court order and the handling of the survivor’s family.