Unnao rape: Delhi HC rejects Kuldeep Sengar’s plea to suspend 10-yr sentence in custodial death case
Sengar was convicted in the rape case in December 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Sengar was convicted in the rape case in December 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Sengar was convicted in the rape case in December 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by former Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar seeking suspension of his 10-year sentence in connection with the custodial death of the Unnao rape survivor’s father.
The court refused to grant relief in the case relating to the death of the victim’s father, who was allegedly assaulted in April 2018 when the survivor’s family had gone to Unnao to attend a court hearing. He was attacked in public by the accused persons and was taken into custody the following day on allegations of being in illegal possession of arms.
The man later died while in police custody due to multiple injuries sustained during the assault. In August 2019, the Supreme Court transferred the trial of five cases linked to the incident, including the custodial death case, from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.
Sengar was convicted in the rape case in December 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was subsequently found guilty of conspiring in the death of the victim’s father on March 04, 2020. In June 2024, the Delhi High Court had earlier rejected his request for suspension of sentence in the same matter. The present plea marked his second attempt to seek similar relief.
Dismissing the petition, Justice Ravinder Dudeja cited Sengar’s criminal antecedents and observed that there had been no fresh developments warranting reconsideration of the sentence.
The court noted that while it was conscious of Sengar’s prolonged incarceration of around 7.5 years in the case, the hearing of his appeal had been delayed due to several factors, including the filing of multiple applications seeking suspension of sentence.
Justice Dudeja observed that the appeal must be taken up and decided on merits at the earliest. It is significant to note that a division bench of the High Court had recently suspended Sengar’s sentence in the rape case. However, the Supreme Court stayed that order a few days later.
(With Live Law Inputs)