Unnao rape case: Plea in Supreme Court against bail to Kuldeep Sengar

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s order suspending the jail term of expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case.

The petition, filed by advocates Anjale Patel and Pooja Shilpkar, has sought a stay on the high court’s 23 December order, arguing that the suspension of sentence was granted without due consideration of the seriousness of the crime and the findings of the trial court.

The petitioners contended that the high court failed to take into account the trial court’s observation that Sengar deserved to remain in prison for the rest of his natural life. They alleged that the high court committed a “grave error in law and on facts” by granting suspension of sentence despite Sengar’s criminal antecedents and his conviction in what they described as heinous offences.

The plea said the high court overlooked material evidence placed on record by the prosecution, which, according to the petitioners, demonstrated the brutality of the crime and Sengar’s influence and criminal propensity. It further referred to the custodial death of the rape survivor’s father, alleging that the crime was orchestrated to intimidate the victim’s family and obstruct the course of justice.

On 23 December, the Delhi High Court suspended Sengar’s sentence in the rape case, noting that he had already served seven years and five months in prison. Sengar is serving a life sentence following his conviction by a trial court in December 2019 for kidnapping and raping the survivor when she was a minor.

The high court suspended the sentence pending disposal of Sengar’s appeal against his conviction. However, Sengar will continue to remain in jail as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in a separate case relating to the custodial death of the survivor’s father, in which he has not been granted bail.

While granting suspension of sentence in the rape case, the high court imposed several conditions, including:

• Furnishing a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of the same amount

• Not entering within a five-kilometre radius of the survivor’s residence in Delhi

• Not threatening the survivor or her mother

The court said violation of any condition would lead to automatic cancellation of bail.

The Unnao rape case and related matters were transferred from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi on the directions of the Supreme Court on 1 August 2019. Sengar’s appeal against his conviction in the custodial death case is also pending before the high court, where he has sought suspension of sentence citing the period already spent in jail.