Unnao Rape Case: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will immediately challenge the Delhi High Court's decision to suspend the life sentence and grant bail to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case. This move will be made before the Supreme Court, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The decision to take this action was made after the CBI reviewed the orders issued by a division bench of the Delhi High Court in relation to the 2017 Unnao rape case. A CBI spokesperson stated that the agency has resolved to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court as soon as possible, seeking to overturn the High Court's order, which allowed Sengar’s release on bail and suspended his life sentence.
Despite this, Sengar will remain in prison as he is still serving a 10-year sentence for the custodial death of the rape survivor's father. He had filed an appeal against his life sentence, a move that was strongly opposed by both the CBI and the victim's family before the Delhi High Court.
"The CBI filed timely replies and written arguments in this matter. The family of the victim has also opposed the petition, citing safety concerns and threats. The CBI will immediately challenge this order," said the spokesperson in a statement.
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Unnao Rape Case: Key Updates
- The CBI is set to challenge the suspension of Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s life sentence and the granting of bail in the Unnao rape case before the Supreme Court.
- On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court suspended Sengar’s sentence, which had been life imprisonment, noting that he had already served seven years and five months in jail.
- Sengar's sentence has been suspended by the high court till the pendency of his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence in the rape case. He has challenged a December 2019 trial court verdict in the case.
- The High Court’s bench, consisting of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, imposed several conditions for Sengar’s bail. These include requiring him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of the same amount.
- Additionally, Sengar is prohibited from coming within a 5-kilometre radius of the victim's residence in Delhi, as well as from issuing any threats to her or her family.
- Kuldeep Singh Sengar was convicted in 2019 for the kidnapping and rape of a minor girl in 2017. The case, along with other related matters, was transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the Supreme Court's direction on August 1, 2019.
What Is Unnao Rape Case?
A minor girl was kidnapped and raped by Sengar in 2017. 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. Sengar's appeal against his conviction in the case of the survivor's father's custodial death case is also pending, where he has sought suspension of sentence on the ground that he has already spent a substantial time in jail. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail in the custodial death case.