The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the Delhi High Court’s order that had stayed the life sentence awarded to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case. With the stay order cancelled, the relief granted to Sengar by the High Court no longer stands.
The case relates to a 2017 complaint by a 17-year-old girl from Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh, who alleged she was abducted and sexually assaulted after approaching Sengar, then the Bangarmau MLA, seeking work. The incident drew nationwide attention after the girl and her mother attempted self-immolation outside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence, alleging inaction on their complaint.
The girl’s father was arrested in a separate case and later died after being assaulted while in police custody, allegedly by Sengar’s supporters. In another incident, a truck hit the car carrying the survivor, her lawyer and relatives; two relatives died, while the survivor and her lawyer sustained serious injuries.
After the CBI investigated the matter, a Delhi trial court in 2019 sentenced Sengar to life imprisonment under the POCSO Act and imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh. He was also awarded an additional 10-year prison term in the case related to the death of the survivor’s father.
Hearing the CBI’s appeal, a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said it could not accept the High Court’s view that Sengar, as a public representative, could not be punished under POCSO on the basis of being a “public servant”. The Supreme Court also directed the Delhi High Court to freshly hear Sengar’s plea challenging the sentence in the father’s death case and deliver a decision within two months, noting that he may approach the apex court for bail if that does not happen.
