Former MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is serving sentence in the Unnao rape case, has received a huge blow from the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has stayed the order of the Delhi High Court, in which Sengar’s sentence was suspended and he was granted bail. After this strict decision of the court, it is now clear that despite getting bail, Kuldeep Singh Sengar will not be able to come out of the prison bars. These arguments were given in the court in this case.
CBI gave this argument in the Supreme Court
Appearing on behalf of the CBI, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta argued in the court that this was not just a crime, but a ‘heinous and heinous’ rape of a minor. The SG clarified that the age of the victim was less than 16 years at the time of the incident, which brings it under the category of ‘Aggravated Penetrative Sexual Assault’. The CBI argued that Sengar was an MLA at the time. In such a situation, he had more responsibility to protect the society and the law, but he misused the influence of his position. Tushar Mehta said the trial court had found Sengar guilty under Section 376 of the IPC, which carries a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment. Because the victim is a minor, Section 376(2) applies, with a minimum sentence of 20 years.
Supreme Court Tree
During the hearing, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Suryakant indicated that they may stay the relief granted to Sengar. The court said that normally the personal liberty (bail) granted once is not revoked, but this case is ‘peculiar’ because Sengar is also serving a 10-year sentence in the case of the victim’s father’s custodial death (death in custody) and he has not been granted relief in that case.
Why did the High Court give relief?
Earlier on December 23, the Delhi High Court had suspended Sengar’s life sentence saying that he had spent more than seven and a half years in jail and hearing his appeal was taking a long time. However, the Supreme Court has now taken a strict stance on this.