The Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) appeal against the Delhi High Court’s ruling that suspended the life sentence and granted bail to ousted Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case will be heard by the Supreme Court on Monday.
A three-judge Vacation Bench consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih, will hear the case on Monday, according to the caseload posted on the Supreme Court’s website.
The Delhi High Court‘s December 23 ruling granting Sengar’s request for a sentence suspension while his appeal is pending has been challenged by the CBI at the highest court.
It was already known that the victim’s family and the CBI had declared their intention to appeal the Delhi High Court’s ruling to the Supreme Court.
The CBI vehemently opposed Sengar’s motion before the Delhi High Court, emphasizing the seriousness of the crime and the possible dangers.
A Division Bench comprising Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar of the Delhi High Court issued an order suspending Sengar’s life sentence and granting him conditional bail, subject to stringent conditions, while his appeal was pending.
Sengar’s release on a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of the same amount was mandated by the Justice Prasad-led Bench. It stipulated that Sengar must stay in Delhi for the term of the bail and not travel within five kilometers of the victim’s home.
The Delhi High Court made it clear that bail will be revoked for any infraction of the terms.
Nationwide indignation had been sparked by the Unnao rape case.
Sengar was found guilty by the trial court in December 2019 of kidnapping and raping a juvenile girl. He was given a life sentence in jail and a fine of Rs 25 lakh.
The Supreme Court had already ordered that the trial be held on a daily basis and moved all matters pertaining to the incident from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.
Women’s rights activists and the survivor’s family have protested against Sengar’s sentence suspension, claiming that the bail ruling has “shaken public faith” and given the wrong message about crimes against women.
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