Unnao rape case: SC to hear CBI plea against Sengar bail on Dec 29
CBI moved the top court after Delhi High Court suspended Kuldeep Sengar’s life term
The Supreme Court is set to hear, on December 29, a plea filed by the CBI challenging a Delhi High Court order that suspended the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case.
According to the apex court's cause list, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices JK Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih is slated to hear the plea.
Besides the plea filed by the CBI, the apex court will also hear a separate petition filed by advocates Anjale Patel and Pooja Shilpkar challenging the High Court order.
Delhi High Court's order
On December 23, the High Court suspended the jail term of Sengar, who was serving a life sentence in the 2017 Unnao rape case, saying he had already served seven years and five months in prison. The court suspended Sengar's life term till the pendency of his appeal challenging his conviction and sentencing in the case.
Sengar has challenged the December 2019 trial court verdict in the case. However, he will remain in jail as he is also serving a 10-year term for the custodial death of the sexual assault survivor's father.
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Sengar's appeal against his conviction in the case of the custodial death of the survivor's father is also pending, in which he has sought suspension of sentence on the ground that he has already spent a substantial time in jail.
Warning from the court
Imposing several conditions, the High Court had directed Sengar to furnish a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of the same amount.
It also directed him not to come within a 5-km radius of the survivor's residence in Delhi and not to threaten her or her mother. Violation of any of the conditions would lead to the cancellation of bail, the High Court warned.
Also Read: Unnao rape case: Kuldeep Sengar gets bail; survivor removed from protest site
It may be noted that the rape case and other connected cases were transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the directions of the Supreme Court on August 1, 2019.
(With agency inputs)