The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Delhi High Court’s order suspending the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case, and directed that he shall not be released from custody.
A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih issued notice to Sengar on a plea filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the high court’s December 23 order.
Appearing for the CBI, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the bench to stay the high court ruling. The bench said the matter required consideration as substantial questions of law arose in the case, and posted it for hearing after four weeks.
Clarifying its order, the apex court said Sengar would continue to remain in jail despite the suspension of his sentence by the high court.
The Delhi High Court had suspended Sengar’s life imprisonment, noting that he had already spent seven years and five months in custody. The sentence was suspended during the pendency of his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence, which stems from a December 2019 trial court verdict.
However, Sengar remains incarcerated as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in the custodial death case of the rape victim’s father and has not been granted bail in that matter.
The Unnao rape case and other connected cases were transferred from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi on August 1, 2019, on the directions of the Supreme Court.