On Friday, the Delhi High Court approved the release on bail of Ashok Singh Bhadauria and Kamta Prasad, both Uttar Pradesh Police officers who had been convicted in connection with the custodial death of the father of the Unnao rape victim.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma granted bail to Bhadauria and Prasad, citing that both individuals had already served sentences exceeding four years.
The court stated that it is an established principle that, for cases that do not involve life sentences, a general guideline of granting bail based on the individual having served approximately 50% of their actual sentence can be applied.

The judgment of the court read, “…it is a matter of record that an appeal in the case was admitted on 31.07.2020 however, the Court has not been able to hear it. It is also a matter of the record that the appellants did not misuse the liberty of interim bail granted to them from time to time.”

The court directed their release on bail upon them providing a bond of ₹50,000.

In March 2020, the trial court found former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, as well as Bhadauria, Prasad, and several others, guilty of various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, in connection with the case.

They were sentenced to serve a rigorous imprisonment term of 10 years.

The minor Unnao rape survivor was abducted and sexually assaulted by Sengar between June 11 and June 20, 2017. Subsequently, she was trafficked and sold for ₹60,000, and she was eventually located at the Makhi police station.

Following her ordeal, the survivor was subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation by the police officials, who were acting on the instructions of Sengar, in order to prevent her from speaking out.

On April 9, 2018, the father of the rape victim passed away while in custody. Allegations surfaced that he had been physically assaulted following a dispute with some of the individuals accused in the case. It was further claimed that he was brought to the Makhi police station and falsely accused of possessing an illegal firearm. He was then remanded into custody, where he tragically lost his life. 

Seven individuals were found guilty in connection with this case.

The Unnao rape case gained widespread national attention when a vehicle without a license plate collided with the car in which the victim was traveling. This accident resulted in critical injuries to the victim and her lawyer, and tragically led to the death of two of her aunts.

Following these developments, the Supreme Court took action by transferring the trial for all four cases from Lucknow to Delhi. It also directed that the proceedings should take place on a day-to-day basis and be concluded within a period of 45 days. As a result, Sengar and other accused individuals were convicted in the case.

Case: Ashok Singh Bhadauria Vs Central Bureau of Investigation, CRL.A. 382/2020, CRL.M.(BAIL) 7778/2020, CRL.M.(BAIL) 378/2023
Kamta Prasad Singh Vs Central Bureau of Investigation, CRL.A. 580/2020, CRL.M.(BAIL) 8335/2020, CRL.M.(BAIL) 435/2022, CRL.M.A. 25873/2022