Unnao rape case: Will Supreme Court stay Delhi HC suspension of Kuldeep Sengar’s jail term? Apex court to hear CBI plea on…

Unnao Rape Case: A plea filed by the CBI challenging a Delhi High Court order suspending the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case will be heard by the apex court on December 29 (Monday).

The CBI plea against Delhi HC order will be heard by a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih, as per the apex court’s cause list for December 29. The top court will also hear a separate petition challenging the Delhi high court’s order in the Unnao rape case by advocates Anjale Patel and Pooja Shilpkar, the cause list revealed.

Why Delhi HC suspended Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s sentence?

The Delhi High Court on December 23 had suspended the jail term of Kuldeep Singh Sengar, stating that the former BJP MLA has already served seven years and five months in prison.

Sengar, who is serving a life sentence in the Unnao rape case, was given a relief by the high court, which suspended his jail term till till the pendency of his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence. He has challenged a December 2019 trial court verdict in the case.

However, Sengar will continue to remain in jail as he is also serving 10 years’ imprisonment in the custodial death case of the victim’s father and has not been granted bail in that case.

Will Kuldeep Sengar remain in jail?

The Delhi High Court has imposed several conditions on Sengar, directing him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of the like amount. The convict has also been directed not to come within a 5-km radius of the survivor’s residence in Delhi and not to threaten her or her mother, warning that violating any of the conditions would lead to the cancellation of bail.

Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who kidnapped and raped the survivor when she was a minor, has also challenged his conviction in the custodial death of the victim’s father. Sengar’s plea contends that he has already spent a substantial time in jail.

On August 1, 2019, the Supreme Court had passed directions t0 transfer the Unnao rape case and other connected cases to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh.

The CBI had moved the Supreme Court on Friday (December 26) against the high court suspending the life sentence of Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case.