Unnao rape case: HC modifies order, shortens Sengar’s interim bail period

The Delhi High Court Friday modified its order granting interim bail to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar, serving life term for raping a minor in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao in 2017, by asking him to surrender after his daughter’s ‘tilak’ ceremony and then be released again before her marriage.

The court had earlier granted interim bail to Sengar for two weeks.

The high court, which was informed that Sengar has been released from Tihar jail this morning, passed the modification order on an application by the victim seeking to recall the interim bail order as she and her family faces threat.

A bench of Justices Mukta Gupta and Poonam A Bamba, which had on January 16 granted interim bail to Sengar from January 27 to February 10 on account of his daughter’s marriage, directed that the politician shall surrender before jail authorities on February 1 as the ‘tilak' ceremony is scheduled on January 30.

It said Sengar shall be again released from jail on February 6 and surrender on February 10 as the wedding is fixed for February 8.

The victim, who was present in the court, said, “If Kuldeep Sengar is granted bail, I and the witnesses will be in danger. All the government officials there are his appointees. I request not to release him or else he can get me killed.” Advocate Mehmood Pracha, representing the girl, said the threat perception was also there even when Sengar was in custody and while ordinarily people are released from jail in the evening, the politician has been released early in the morning which shows his clout.

Senior advocate Pramod Dubey, appearing for Sengar, opposed the victim’s plea saying the court has imposed sufficient conditions on the leader while granting him the relief and court may ask him to stay in his house instead of reducing the period.

Sengar has been granted interim bail to attend his daughter’s marriage in the rape case as well as in the case in which he is serving 10 years' imprisonment for the death of the Unnao rape victim's father in custody.

The victim has sought recall of the January 16 order by which Sengar was granted interim bail in the rape case.

The CBI, which had earlier verified the factum of marriage of Sengar’s daughter, told the court in a latest status report that it may reconsider and recall its interim bail order.

Sengar's appeal challenging the trial court's verdict in the Unnao rape case is pending in the high court. He has sought quashing of the December 2019 judgement of the trial court which sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his life.

The girl was kidnapped and raped by Sengar in 2017 when she was a minor.

On March 13, 2020, Sengar was sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment, besides imposition of a fine of Rs 10 lakh, in the case of death of the rape victim's father in custody. The court had also awarded a 10-year jail term to Sengar's brother Atul Singh Sengar and five others.

The father of the rape victim was arrested at the behest of Sengar in a case under the Arms Act and died in custody on April 9, 2018.

The trial court, which did not hold the accused guilty of murder under the IPC, awarded the maximum sentence for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder to the convicts under section 304 of the IPC after holding that there was no intention to kill.

The case was transferred to Delhi from the trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the directions of the Supreme Court on August 1, 2019.