Unnao rape case: Delhi HC reduces days of interim bail to Sengar, staggers relief in 2 parts

Advocate Mehmood Pracha, representing the victim, said that the threat perception to the victim and her family was there even when Sengar was in custody and while ordinarily people are released from jail in the evening, Sengar had been released early morning that shows his clout.

The counsel appearing for Sengar opposed the victim’s plea saying that the high court had imposed sufficient conditions on his client while granting him the relief and the court may ask him to stay in his house instead of reducing the period.

The high court was hearing a plea moved by the Unnao rape survivor who had challenged the 15-day interim bail granted to Sengar. The former BJP leader was convicted and sentenced to life by a trial court for raping the survivor, who was a minor in 2017. The bail was granted in the matter challenging the December 2019 judgment of the trial court pertaining to the rape conviction and life imprisonment.

On January 16, the high court noted the CBI’s status report which said the ’tilak’ function is scheduled for January 30 at Gorakhpur and the wedding will take place on February 8 in Lucknow. The court thereafter granted Sengar interim bail and directed him to report daily at the Lucknow office of the CBI during the suspension period, except on January 30 and 31 when Sengar would be in Gorakhpur. The court also asked him to furnish two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each.

On January 25, appearing for the victim, Pracha submitted that according to his client, apprehension has increased for her and her family’s safety after Sengar was granted bail. He submitted that Sengar is a very “influential person” and was able to “orchestrate the death” of the victim’s father when he was in jail.

The victim’s plea stated that the Uttar Pradesh government had filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court on November 16, 2022, highlighting the security risk to her and her family during Sengar’s time in jail. “Hence, the security risk to the applicant (victim) upon enlargement of the appellant (Sengar), even for an interim period, poses a serious risk,” the plea stated.

It also stated that she had received information that Sengar was going to harm her and her family after being released from prison on interim bail.

The plea stated that the survivor’s apprehension regarding safety has increased especially because Sengar, after his release on bail, “is permitted to use his mobile phone, and is likely to conspire with and influence his known persons in the administration in order to harass the applicant, and to create security risks”.

On January 16, the high court directed Sengar to furnish his mobile phone number and instructed that the phone be kept in active mode throughout the interim bail period. The court directed that during the period of interim suspension, neither Sengar nor his family will contact the victim or any of her family members, or go near their residence, or contact any of the witnesses already examined or proposed to be examined in any trial connected with the expelled BJP leader.