Unnao rape case: Ex-BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar gets interim bail for daughter’s wedding
A division bench of Justices Mukta Gupta and Poonam A Bamba granted bail to Sengar from January 27 to February 10 directing him to report to the concerned station house officer on a daily basis during his release period and to furnish two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each.
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Expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar (File) The Delhi High Court on Monday granted interim bail for 15 days to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar – sentenced to life by a trial court for raping a minor girl in 2017 – on account of his daughter’s wedding.
A division bench of Justices Mukta Gupta and Poonam A Bamba granted bail to Sengar from January 27 to February 10 directing him to report to the concerned station house officer on a daily basis during his release period and to furnish two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each. The bail was granted in the matter challenging the December 2019 judgment of the trial court pertaining to the rape conviction and life imprisonment.
Appearing for Sengar, senior advocates N Hariharan and P K Dubey submitted that the wedding rituals and ceremonies would be held in Gorakhpur and Lucknow and being the only male family member, Sengar had to make the arrangements. According to Sengar’s application, the wedding is expected to take place on February 8.
Advocate Nikhil Goel, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), said it was found that two halls were booked and that several wedding ceremonies were expected to take place. Hariharan, in the previous hearing, had submitted that the ‘tilak’ ceremony of Sengar’s daughter was to be held on January 30 and the wedding was scheduled for February 8, 2023.
On March 13, 2020, the trial court had sentenced Sengar to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh after the victim’s father – who was allegedly framed and arrested in an illegal arms case – died in judicial custody days later on April 9, 2018. The trial court had said “no leniency” could be shown for killing a family’s “sole bread earner”.
Sengar had also sought bail in this second case which was listed before Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma Monday, where the former BJP leader’s counsel submitted that his client may be granted bail as per the terms of the order of the division bench. Asking Sengar to provide a copy of the bail plea to the victim’s counsel Mehmood Pracha, the high court listed the matter for hearing on January 19.
Sengar has also challenged the trial court’s December 16, 2019 order that found him guilty of raping a minor girl and its December 20, 2019 order that sentenced him to “life imprisonment till the remainder of his biological life”. The trial court had found Sengar guilty under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 5(c) and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, holding that the victim’s testimony was “unblemished, truthful and… of sterling quality”.
District judge Dharmesh Sharma had said Sengar was a public servant, people had reposed faith in him and he had betrayed their trust. “All possible coercive measures were employed against the family. There was pain to the family and efforts were made to threaten harm,” the judge said.
The case dates back to June 4, 2017, when the victim, then 17, was allegedly raped by the four-time BJP MLA from Bangermau in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao. On July 28, 2019, a speeding truck rammed into the car in which the victim, her two aunts and their lawyer were travelling. Her aunts were killed while the victim and her lawyer were critically injured. Sengar was expelled from the BJP in August 2019.
On August 1, 2019, the Supreme Court transferred the rape case and four related cases to Delhi and directed the trial court to complete the trial in 45 days.
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