Author: Hritika Singh at NBT Law College
To the Point
The Unnao case remains a deeply harrowing account of a young woman’s relentless struggle for justice following a brutal act of violence. In June 2017, a 17-year-old girl from Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh, was deceived by a distant relative, Shashi Singh, who lured her to Kanpur with a false job promise. She was subsequently allegedly gang-raped by Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a then-influential BJP MLA, his brother Atul Singh, and several associates.
The trauma was compounded by a systematic misuse of power. Despite the family filing a formal complaint, no immediate action was taken against the accused. Instead, they faced relentless intimidation, including false charges filed against the survivor’s uncle. Her anguished open letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath pleading for intervention initially failed to spur official action.
The situation turned more tragic in April 2018 when the survivor’s father was savagely beaten by Atul Singh and others. Astoundingly, the police arrested the injured father on a fabricated arms charge. While in custody, he suffered fatal injuries, with his post-mortem report detailing severe internal bleeding and bruising. His death on April 9th, following the survivor’s desperate protest attempt outside the CM’s residence, finally ignited national outrage. This forced the state government to form a Special Investigation Team, and the case was later transferred to the CBI, leading to the arrests of Sengar and his accomplices.
Yet, the threats persisted. A key witness in the assault case died under unexplained circumstances. Then, in July 2019, as the survivor, two of her aunts, and her lawyer travelled to meet her jailed uncle, a truck with a smeared license plate deliberately rammed their car. The aunts were killed; the survivor and her lawyer survived with critical injuries. The assigned police security was conspicuously absent. The family linked this attack to prior threats from Sengar, aimed at forcing them to withdraw the case.
This horrific event prompted the Supreme Court to intervene decisively. It moved all related cases to Delhi, ordered interim compensation for the survivor, and ensured her safe treatment at AIIMS Delhi. In a profound act of courage, the survivor recently recorded her testimony from a hospital wheelchair before a special court. Despite visible pain, she endured cross-examination, recounting her ordeal while facing the accused.
Use of Legal Jargon:
FIR (First Information Report): The initial, crucial document prepared by the police when they receive information about a cognizable (serious) offense, which sets the criminal law process in motion.
Charged: Formally accused of a specific crime by the legal authorities. The article states the accused were “charged for the heinous crime.”
Custodial Death: The death of a person while they are in the custody of the police or judicial authorities. The victim’s father died in police custody, making it a custodial death, a grave matter under the law.
7. Arrested and Charged: Two distinct steps. “Arrested” means taken into physical custody. “Charged” (here meaning “framed charges”) is the subsequent formal judicial step where a specific accusation is read out in court against the accused.
8. Witness: A person who gives evidence or testimony before a court. The death of Mohammad Younus, a “key witness,” was a significant setback.
Abstract
The Unnao case starkly exposes how power can corrupt justice and terrorize the powerless. It is a grim reminder of the vulnerabilities within our systems. While its details are particularly egregious, it reflects a broader pattern of violence against women. By continuing to speak of this case, we amplify a collective demand for accountability and a hope for a society where such injustices are neither tolerated nor repeated.
It is also significant that the appellant has a prior criminal record, having been convicted in a related case for raping a minor and sentenced to life imprisonment. The presence of such grave prior offences is a crucial factor and weighs heavily against suspending his sentence, Justice Dudeja noted. Sengar has two appeals pending before the Delhi High Court: one from 2019, challenging his life sentence for the rape of a minor, and another from March 2020, challenging his ten-year sentence for culpable homicide in the death of the minor’s father. After the High Court suspended the life sentence, arguing Sengar could not be considered a public servant, the CBI appealed to the Supreme Court, which then paused the High Court’s order. Even while jailed in Sitapur, Sengar’s political influence persisted, as the BJP’s Unnao MP credited his own election win to Sengar’s blessings.
The Proof
The court further directed an additional ₹10 lakh compensation be paid to the Ultimately, on December 20, 2019, MLA Sengar was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 376(2) of the Indian Penal Code. While this verdict was a relief, the extensively delayed and often obstructed justice in this case inflicted serious reputational damage on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his BJP administration in Uttar Pradesh.
survivor’s mother, stating that the Uttar Pradesh government would have to pay from its own funds if this was not fulfilled, in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code.
Rape is a profound evil, an act wrong in itself, which inflicts severe mental, physical, emotional, and social wounds upon its victim. This violence often stems from a pervasive culture that empowers the perpetrator, framing assault as an act of conquest. In this specific case, the crimes were a brutal display of power by MLA Sengar and his associates over the young victim—a power dynamic sharply defined by caste, as Sengar is an upper-caste Thakur and the victim was a Dalit minor.
This incident also exposes a corrupt system where political machinery prioritizes shielding influential figures and securing caste-based votes over justice, a stark demonstration of absolute power corrupting absolutely. In the same year as this case, India reported an average of 91 rapes daily—a tragic irony in a democracy whose constitution enshrines gender equality. Despite societal efforts, sexual violence persists intermittently, and while research into its causes raises complex questions, it underscores the deep connection between rape and the broader status of women.
The Sengar case highlights glaring inconsistencies in punishing rape in India. While the 2012 Nirbhaya convicts received the death penalty, other high-profile offenders routinely secure bail, parole, or remission. Just this month, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, serving a 20-year sentence for rape, was granted his 15th parole. In November 2025, Asaram was granted bail in a rape case by the Gujarat High Court, shortly after receiving bail in Rajasthan. In 2022, the Gujarat government remitted the sentences of the 11 men convicted of gang-raping Bilkis Bano, who were then publicly celebrated. Such relief, activists argue, is dictated more by political clout than legal principle, raising grave concerns about survivor safety and equal justice.
Conclusion
For survivors, legal rulings on bail are not abstractions; they dictate daily safety—determining whether a woman or child can sleep, attend school, or walk in their neighbourhood. “From filing a complaint, the journey is arduous, marked by fear, pressure to withdraw, and stigma,” explained Advocate Audrey D’Mello of Majlis Legal Centre.
Thus, bail decisions can retraumatize. D’Mello notes that judicial arbitrariness in bail and sentencing is particularly visible in high-profile cases, heavily influenced by the identities of the accused and victim. “If the accused is ‘respectable,’ the victim is shamed. Conversely, if the accused is from a marginalized community and the victim is upper-class, the narrative shifts. Courts are swayed by these societal biases,” she stated.
Legally, bail is the norm due to lengthy trials, but it must be conditional on the survivor’s security. Courts must assess risks of intimidation, harm, or evidence tampering, which is why the law mandates hearing the victim before granting bail, D’Mello emphasized.
FAQS
Q: Who was Kuldeep Singh Sengar, and what was his role in the Unnao case?
A: Kuldeep Singh Sengar was a four-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Bangarmau in Uttar Pradesh, affiliated with the BJP at the time of the crime. He was the primary accused in the gangrape of a 17-year-old girl in June 2017. The case highlighted an extreme abuse of power, as he allegedly used his political influence to intimidate the victim’s family and obstruct justice for nearly a year before his arrest.
2. Q: Why did the case gain national attention and what triggered the government’s action?
A: The case exploded into national headlines due to a series of escalating tragedies: the custodial death of the victim’s father in April 2018, the survivor’s attempted self-immolation outside the Chief Minister’s residence, and a later fatal car crash in July 2019 that killed her aunts. The relentless media coverage and widespread public protests forced the Uttar Pradesh government and eventually the Supreme Court to intervene, transferring the case to the CBI and later to Delhi for a fair trial.
3. Q: What was the significance of the Supreme Court’s intervention in this case?
A: The Supreme Court’s intervention was a critical turning point. It transferred all related cases from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi to ensure an impartial trial, appointed a special judge for day-to-day hearings, ordered the state to pay the victim significant interim compensation (₹25 lakhs), and mandated her safe treatment at AIIMS, Delhi. This move was seen as essential to protect the survivor and the integrity of the judicial process from local political influence.
4. Q: What happened in the July 2019 car crash, and why was it considered suspicious?
A: In July 2019, a truck with a deliberately obscured license plate rammed into a car carrying the survivor, her two aunts, and her lawyer. The aunts were killed, and the other two were critically injured. The incident was deemed highly suspicious because the victim’s police security detail was inexplicably absent at the time, and the family had previously received death threats from Kuldeep Sengar, urging them to drop the case. This led to widespread outrage and allegations of a planned murder attempt.
5. Q: How has the trial progressed, and what is the current status of the victim?
A: The trial has been proceeding on a day-to-day basis in a Delhi court. In a significant development, the survivor recorded her testimony in September 2019 from a temporary courtroom set up at AIIMS, where she was recuperating. She provided her statement in the presence of the accused while in a wheelchair, demonstrating immense courage. The CBI has confirmed she was a minor at the time of the assault. The court continues to hear arguments on related matters, including her father’s custodial death, as the fight for justice continues.
