Scores of people gathered outside the Delhi High Court on Friday to protest its grant of conditional bail to a former ruling party lawmaker imprisoned for rape, renewing a debate about accountability for sexual crimes in India.
Kuldeep Singh Sengar, former state lawmaker from prime minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party, was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2019 for raping a minor girl. This week, the high court suspended his sentence while his appeal against conviction remained pending. The order triggered criticism, protests and legal challenges amid renewed fears for the survivor’s safety.
