The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday approached the Supreme Court against a Delhi High Court order suspending the jail sentence and granting bail to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, convicted in the 2017 Unnao rape case.
The agency had earlier said that it will immediately challenge the order in the top court, amid protests by the rape survivor and family.
The CBI filed a Special Leave Petition in the apex court against the order of the high court, officials said.
It was decided to file an SLP before the Supreme Court at the earliest against the orders of the high court, which granted bail to Sengar after suspending his life sentence, a CBI spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The CBI filed timely replies and written arguments in this matter. The family of the victim has also opposed the petition, citing safety and threats. The CBI will immediately challenge this order," the statement said.
Triggering widespread criticism and concerns over the security of the rape survivor, the Delhi HC on Tuesday suspended the life imprisonment awarded to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and granted him bail on a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh during the pendency of his appeal.
The court imposed certain conditions, directing him not to enter within a five-kilometre radius of the victim’s residence in Delhi and not to threaten the survivor or her mother.
Sengar, however, will remain in jail since he is also serving a 10-year term in connection with the custodial death of the rape survivor's father and has not been granted bail in that case.
Sengar was convicted to life imprisonment for kidnapping and raping the minor girl by a trial court in December 2019.
According to the prosecution, the Unnao rape survivor, a minor, was kidnapped and raped by Sengar between June 11 to June 20, 2017 in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao area. She was then sold for Rs 60,000, after which she was recovered at the Maakhi police station.
The court found Sengar guilty of rape under section 376 (Rape) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 5(C) and 6 of the POCSO Act, holding that the victim's testimony was 'unblemished, truthful and of sterling quality'.