The Supreme Court will hear on Monday the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision to suspend the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar and grant him bail in the 2017 Unnao rape case while his appeal is pending.
According to the Supreme Court’s cause list for December 29, the matter will be taken up by a three-judge Special Vacation Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih. The CBI has requested the top court to stay the high court’s order, which has sparked nationwide outrage.
The apex court will also hear a petition filed by advocates Anjale Patel and Pooja Shilpkar, who argued that the Delhi High Court erred in granting bail and suspending Sengar’s sentence without considering that the trial court had ordered that he remain in prison for life.
The Delhi High Court had suspended Sengar’s sentence on December 23, noting that he had already served seven years and five months in prison. The court also held that aggravated offence provisions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Section 376(2) of the Indian Penal Code were not applicable, as Sengar could not be classified as a “public servant” under the law.
Sengar, convicted in December 2019 for kidnapping and raping a minor girl, was ordered to furnish a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of the same amount. The high court also directed him to stay at least five kilometres away from the victim’s residence and not threaten her or her family, warning that any violation would lead to cancellation of bail.
However, Sengar remains in jail as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in the custodial death case of the victim’s father and has not been granted bail in that matter.
The petitioners argued that the high court ignored key evidence showing the brutality and criminal influence of Sengar. They pointed out that he orchestrated the murder of the victim’s father while he was under judicial custody, demonstrating his financial power and capacity to obstruct justice.
The Unnao rape case, transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court from Uttar Pradesh in August 2019, has drawn national attention and protests from the survivor’s family and women’s rights activists. They have criticised the Delhi High Court’s order, saying it undermines public faith in the justice system and sends a dangerous message regarding crimes against women.
