Kuldeep Singh Sengar
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted a two-week interim bail on medical grounds to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar, currently serving life term for raping a minor in UP’s Unnao in 2017.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma suspended the sentence in the meantime and directed Sengar’s medical evaluation in AIIMS, Delhi, besides ordering him to remain in the capital.
“Considering the history of the case as also the medical condition of the applicant, it is directed that the applicant will be released on interim bail for two weeks and he shall seek admission in AIIMS Delhi for a comprehensive medical evaluation,” said the bench.
The court sought a report from the AIIMS medical board and posted the matter on December 20.
Sengar is also serving a 10-year jail term in connection with the custodial death of the Unnao rape survivor’s father and a plea for interim bail in the case is still pending before a different bench of the high court.
The jailed politician sought the suspension of the sentence for two months on the ground of ailments such as cataract, arguing it required urgent attention.
The court was informed that Sengar suffered from “retinal detachment” which required him to travel to a hospital in Chennai, besides getting treated for other complications in Lucknow.
The plea was opposed by the survivor’s lawyer and the CBI.
The counsel for the rape survivor said Sengar should not be released as it would pose a threat to her safety and security.
The CBI counsel said treatment could be given to Senagr in Delhi while he continued to be in custody.
The court considered the medical report filed by the jail authorities in the matter and noted that while a certain medical intervention was required, the MRI date given by G B Pant Hospital was in April, 2026.
“The court can’t ignore all the medical conditions that the applicant is suffering from.. Although the union of India has moved an application for withdrawing the security given to the survivor, the same is still continuing as the application is pending in the Supreme Court,” the bench said.
The court directed Sengar not to contact the survivor and report to the local CBI official upon release.
Sengar’s appeal challenging the trial court’s verdict in the main Unnao rape case is pending in the high court and he has sought quashing of the December, 2019 judgement of the trial court that sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his life.
The survivor 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 and fined Rs 10 lakh, in connection with the case of custodial death of the rape victim’s father. The court 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. He died in custody on April 9, 2018.
The rape case and other connected cases were transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the directions of the Supreme Court on August 1, 2019.
