2 months ago
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The Supreme Court connected Monday (March 9, 2026) recognised the close of the Unnao rape subsister to beryllium heard, and ordered her impleadment arsenic a enactment successful a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the assistance of bail to the accused erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Kuleep Singh Sengar, successful the case.
The Bench of the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, however, did not entertain an exertion filed by the survivor’s cousin, a minor, citing a menace to his life. The tribunal said the applicant could question an autarkic ineligible remedy, perchance earlier the jurisdictional High Court, alternatively than effort to implead himself successful the CBI petition earlier the apex court.
The tribunal did not get into the merits of the lawsuit arsenic the CBI, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, sought an adjournment.
In December 2025, the Supreme Court had stayed the cognition of a Delhi High Court bid suspending the situation condemnation and granting of bail to the expelled BJP leader, who was recovered blameworthy of kidnap and rape successful the Unnao case.
The prosecution mentation was that the survivor, past a minor, was sexually assaulted astatine the erstwhile MLA’s residence successful 2017 connected the mendacious pretext of providing her with a job.
The CBI, which probed the case, had sought justness for the survivor, saying “we are answerable to the kid who was lone 15 years aged erstwhile this gruesome transgression happened to her”.
The Supreme Court had successful its bid noted that, usually, it did not interfere successful an bid of bail. However, the Unnao lawsuit had revolved astir a acceptable of “unique facts and circumstances”, including the information that Sengar was separately recovered blameworthy of the custodial decease of the survivor’s father.
The apical tribunal had besides decided to analyse the larger question of instrumentality regarding wherefore Sengar was not charged for ‘aggravated intersexual battle by a nationalist servant’ punished with beingness imprisonment nether Section 5(c) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act successful the 2017 Unnao rape case. The apex tribunal had recovered that MLAs did not travel nether the explanation of ‘public servant’ successful POCSO. Section 5(c) classified a rape committed by a ‘public servant’ connected a kid to beryllium an aggravated signifier of intersexual assault. The punishment successful specified cases would beryllium a minimum of 20 years, extending up to the remainder of the convict’s earthy life.
