The Supreme Court on December 29 stayed the Delhi High Court’s order suspending the life sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case, effectively ruling out his release from jail for now.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant was hearing a plea filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the Delhi High Court’s December 23 order, which had suspended Sengar’s life imprisonment after he completed more than seven years in custody.
While putting the High Court’s order on hold, the apex court said the case raises several substantial questions of law. The bench issued notice to Sengar on the CBI’s appeal and directed that a counter-affidavit be filed within four weeks.
“We have heard the Solicitor General for the CBI as well as senior counsel appearing for the convict. We are of the view that several important questions of law arise in this matter. Though this court ordinarily does not stay release orders once a convict has been freed, considering the peculiar facts of the case, including the fact that the convict stands convicted in another offence, the operation of the Delhi High Court’s order dated December 23 is stayed,” the Chief Justice observed.
The court made it clear that Sengar shall not be released from prison pursuant to the High Court’s order.
Sengar, who was expelled from the BJP, was convicted for the kidnapping and rape of a minor girl in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, in 2017 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Although his sentence was suspended by the Delhi High Court, he continues to remain behind bars as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in the custodial death case of the survivor’s father and has not been granted bail in that matter.
Welcoming the Supreme Court’s intervention, the survivor’s counsel Hemant Kumar Maurya said the order had brought relief to his client. “We are grateful to the Supreme Court. The survivor is relieved as the court has made it clear that the accused will not be released,” he said.
The matter is listed for further hearing in January.