SC impleads Unnao rape survivor in CBI plea against bail for Sengar

The Supreme Court on Monday (March 9, 2026) recognised the right of the Unnao rape survivor to be heard, and ordered her impleadment as a party in a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the grant of bail to the accused former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Kuleep Singh Sengar, in the case.

The Bench of the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, however, did not entertain an application filed by the survivor’s cousin, a minor, citing a threat to his life. The court said the applicant could seek an independent legal remedy, possibly before the jurisdictional High Court, rather than attempt to implead himself in the CBI petition before the apex court.

The court did not get into the merits of the case as the CBI, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, sought an adjournment.

In December 2025, the Supreme Court had stayed the operation of a Delhi High Court order suspending the prison sentence and granting of bail to the expelled BJP leader, who was found guilty of kidnap and rape in the Unnao case.

The prosecution version was that the survivor, then a minor, was sexually assaulted at the former MLA’s residence in 2017 on the false pretext of providing her with a job.

The CBI, which probed the case, had sought justice for the survivor, saying “we are answerable to the child who was only 15 years old when this gruesome crime happened to her”.

The Supreme Court had in its order noted that, usually, it did not interfere in an order of bail. However, the Unnao case had revolved around a set of “unique facts and circumstances”, including the fact that Sengar was separately found guilty of the custodial death of the survivor’s father.

The top court had also decided to examine the larger question of law regarding why Sengar was not charged for ‘aggravated sexual assault by a public servant’ punished with life imprisonment under Section 5(c) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in the 2017 Unnao rape case. The apex court had found that MLAs did not come under the definition of ‘public servant’ in POCSO. Section 5(c) classified a rape committed by a ‘public servant’ on a child to be an aggravated form of sexual assault. The punishment in such cases would be a minimum of 20 years, extending up to the remainder of the convict’s natural life.