Unnao Case-CBI Helped the Accused Not Victim | InFocus Episode 45 | Jist

Six years after the CBI trial court convicted Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 rape of a minor, the former BJP MLA has been granted bail by the Delhi High Court. His sentence has been suspended pending appeal in the Supreme Court.

Sengar has exploited the loophole in the definition of a 'public servant' under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

A two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court has ordered that Sengar cannot be categorised as a public servant either under Section 5(c) of the POCSO Act or Section 376(2)(b) of the IPC.

Court’s prima facie finding says the offence of aggravated penetrative sexual assault under POCSO was not made out against Sengar.

Under POCSO, aggravated penetrative sexual assault by a public servant is punishable with a minimum 20-year jail term which can extend to the remainder of a convict’s natural life.

In December 2019, when Sengar was convicted, the trial court had treated Sengar as a "public servant" who had betrayed the faith of the people.

Ever since Delhi HC granted conditional bail to Sengar, there has been an outpouring of support for the Unnao rape survivor who says she fears for her life.

In fact, the case against Sengar was weakened during the initial investigations by the CBI, a fact that was pointed out by the trial court.

The trial court had said that it was an “inescapable conclusion” that the CBI did not conduct a fair investigation. The trial court had further observed that the CBI’s laxity in the investigation worked to the disadvantage of the rape survivor and her family.

The trial court had also questioned the CBI’s delay in filing the charge-sheet and prolonging the probe in the custodial death case against Sengar.