New Delhi/Lucknow: The Delhi High Court has granted conditional bail to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the prime accused and a convicted offender in the 2017 Unnao gang rape case, suspending his life sentence pending appeal. The decision has once again brought national attention to one of India’s most disturbing cases involving sexual violence and alleged abuse of political power.
The case dates back to June 4, 2017, when a minor Dalit girl was allegedly raped by then Unnao MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar after she approached him seeking employment. She later alleged that on June 11, 2017, she was kidnapped and gang-raped by his associates. The survivor’s legal battle, now spanning nearly nine years, has been marked by intimidation, loss of family members, and an alleged attempt on her life.
In August 2017, the survivor wrote an open letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath detailing the assault. Despite the gravity of the allegations, no immediate FIR was registered. Instead, the survivor’s family was allegedly targeted. Her father was arrested on what the CBI later described as false charges and subsequently died in police custody under suspicious circumstances in April 2018.
With no action taken against the accused, the survivor attempted self-immolation outside the Chief Minister’s residence in Lucknow on April 8, 2018. Following widespread public outrage and media scrutiny, the Allahabad High Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which arrested Sengar.
In July 2019, the survivor was injured in a road accident in Rae Bareli when a truck rammed into her vehicle, killing her two aunts. Investigations later established that the crash was a planned murder attempt allegedly orchestrated by Sengar. The Supreme Court transferred the trial from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi and ordered CRPF security for the survivor and her family.
In December 2019, a special CBI court in Delhi convicted Sengar and sentenced him to life imprisonment, along with a fine of ₹25 lakh. In March 2020, he was also sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in the custodial death case of the survivor’s father.
After serving nearly five years in prison, Sengar challenged his conviction before the Delhi High Court. On December 23, 2025, the court suspended his life sentence and granted him bail, observing prima facie that his conviction under Section 5(c) of the POCSO Act, treating him as a “public servant,” may not have been technically correct. The court directed Sengar to furnish a personal bond of ₹15 lakh, surrender his passport, stay at least five kilometres away from the survivor’s residence, and report to the police station every Monday.
Reacting to the bail order, the survivor expressed deep concern over her safety, calling the decision a “death sentence” for her family. She staged a protest near India Gate in Delhi and announced plans to challenge the bail order in the Supreme Court. The CBI has also indicated it will move the apex court against the High Court’s decision.
Due to security concerns, the survivor is currently residing at a secure location in Delhi under continuous CRPF protection. The case is now set to return to the Supreme Court, once again raising questions about survivor safety, judicial accountability, and justice in cases involving powerful accused.