The survivor of the 2017 Unnao rape case on Thursday criticised the Delhi High Court's verdict suspending the jail term of expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar and said that she is hurt by the judgment. She also hit out at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which has decided to move to the Supreme Court against the high court order and asked what was the central probe agency doing till now.
"I am hurt that such a judgment has been passed. This is the first order in the country where a rape accused has been granted bail, and the sentence has been stayed," the survivor told news agency ANI. "What was the CBI doing before? The CBI's IO has met with Kuldeep Sengar... I have not yet filed any petition in the Supreme Court from my side."
Sengar was convicted of kidnapping and raping a minor girl in 2017. The expelled BJP leader was sentenced to life imprisonment, but his jail term was suspended by the Delhi High Court on Thursday. Suspending the jail term, the court said Sengar will have to furnish a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of the like amount.
The verdict was passed by Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar.
Plea filed in Supreme court
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court, challenging the high court's verdict. The plea was filed by advocates Anjale Patel and Pooja Shilpkar, in which they said that the Delhi High Court passed the order without considering that the trial court's observation.
"The High Court failed to appreciate the material evidence relied upon by the prosecution which clearly demonstrates the barbarity and brutality of the accused, coupled with his demonstrated muscle power, financial influence and criminal propensity, as evidenced from the fact that even while the victim's father was under judicial custody, the accused orchestrated and executed victim's father murder to silence the family and frustrate the due course of justice," the plea said.
Earlier, the CBI also opposed the high court's verdict and said it will move to the Supreme Court. In a statement, the probe agency said it has decided file an Special Leave Petition (SLP) immediately before the apex court, as the victim's family has cited threats to them.
Meanwhile, the opposition has also criticised the verdict, with Congress saying that the judgment is "extremely disappointing and shameful". On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, also met the survivor at his mother Sonia Gandhi's 10, Janpath residence in the national capital.
