Unnao rape case: Delhi HC rejects Kuldeep Sengar's plea for sentence suspension

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has rejected a plea filed by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar seeking suspension of his sentence in the case related to the custodial death of the father of Unnao rape victim.

The bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma ruled that it was not inclined to grant the prayer as after conviction, the plea of presumption of innocence does not apply anymore.

Rather, the bench held that factors such as the gravity of the offence, nature of the crime, criminal antecedents of the convict, and impact on public confidence on judiciary etc. come into play.

Therefore, even if Sengar has already undergone 6 out of 10 years of imprisonment awarded to him, he is not entitled to suspension of sentence, the Court held.

Justice Sharma also considered that the Unnao rape victims family has been under threat from the former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and has been given protection by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Therefore, in view of the foregoing discussion, and upon applying the principles laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the judgments discussed hereinabove, this Court is not inclined to allow the present application seeking suspension of sentence at this stage, the Court concluded.

The Unnao rape case which took on the country's conscience by its horns, involved a minor victim who was found to have been kidnapped and raped by Sengar between June 11 and June 20, 2017, before being sold for Rs. 60,000.

She was recovered at the Maakhi police station eventually but was always under threat and intimidation from police officials against opening up on her situation.

The intimidation and threat were upon Sengar's instructions.

She and her lawyer were subsequently injured fatally, and two of her aunts lost their lives after their car was rammed by a truck without a number plate.

Sengar got convicted in December 2019 after the Supreme Court's directions for the cases related to the crime to be given expedited hearings, and for them to be decided within 45 days.

Sengar was convicted for the rape of the minor victim as well as for the custodial death of the victims father, being sentenced to life-imprisonment in the rape case.

He got 10 years sentence in the custodial death case of the victim's father.

Advocates Kanhaiya Singhal, Ujwal Ghai, Aishwarya Sengar, Udit Bakshi, Vani Singhal, Prasanna, Teeksh Singhal, Deepali Pawar, Ajay Kumar and Anmol Chopra appeared for Kuldeep Singh Senger.

CBI was represented by Special Public Prosecutor Ravi Sharma as well as advocates Anjani Kumar Rai and Praphulll Kumar.

Cause Title: Kuldeep Singh Sengar v Central Bureau of Investigation