The Supreme Court postponed the hearing on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s challenge to the bail granted to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case. The delay was due to the absence of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The court, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, decided to reschedule the hearing for two weeks later.
Meanwhile, the court accepted the impleadment application from the rape survivor, asserting her right to be heard in the CBI’s special leave petition. However, the Bench rejected an intervention application from the survivor’s cousin, who sought protection citing threats to life and liberty if Sengar were released on bail.
The court advised the cousin to seek an independent remedy before the High Court for protection. The brief hearing also saw senior advocate N. Hariharan, representing Sengar, urging the court to expedite the matter’s listing for an early hearing. In response, the CJI assured that a date for the final hearing would be scheduled promptly.
The CJI-led Bench was addressing the CBI’s challenge against the Delhi High Court’s December 2025 order, which had suspended Sengar’s life sentence and granted him conditional bail pending his appeal. The bail decision had sparked protests from the survivor’s family and women’s rights activists, who criticized it for undermining public trust and sending a negative message on crimes against women.
In 2019, a trial court had found Sengar guilty of kidnapping and raping a minor girl, sentencing him to life imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 25 lakh. The Supreme Court had earlier shifted all related cases from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi and ordered a day-to-day trial.
