New Delhi, Feb 9: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Delhi High Court to accord an out-of-turn hearing to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s plea challenging his conviction in the custodial death case of the Unnao rape survivor’s father, and said it be decided within three months.
While refusing to entertain Sengar’s plea challenging a January 19 order of the high court that had refused to suspend his 10-year jail term in the case, the apex court said if the victim’s family has filed any appeal against the trial court order, that should also be heard by the high court along with the expelled BJP leader’s petition.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria issued the order while hearing Sengar’s plea challenging the high court’s order.
During the hearing, the CJI expressed disapproval over the victim’s counsel giving statements in the media about the case. “We are not sitting in an ivory tower. We know a media trial is going on outside,” Justice Kant said, adding he would not tolerate any “parallel trial” outside the court.
The bench was informed that Sengar’s appeal is slated to come up for hearing before the high court on February 11.
During the hearing, Sengar’s counsel, senior advocate Siddharth Dave, said the expelled BJP leader has already served seven years and seven months of the actual sentence in the case.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, said Sengar’s appeal was pending before the high court and it was slated to come up for hearing on February 11. He said the high court can be requested to take up the matter and decide the appeal on its merits.
The bench observed that Sengar was serving a life sentence in the rape case. “This is one country which is proud of its rule of law. Even the most dreaded convict has got a fair trial,” it said.
Mehta referred to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and said terrorist Ajmal Kasab was given a fair trial, and judicial proceedings went right up to the Supreme Court in that case.
Sengar was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by a trial court on March 13, 2020, and fined Rs 10 lakh in the case. The trial court had said “no leniency” could be shown for killing a family’s “sole bread earner”.
The rape survivor’s father was arrested at the behest of Sengar under the Arms Act and died in custody on April 9, 2018, owing to police brutalities. Sengar had kidnapped the minor and raped her in 2017.
The trial court did not hold the accused guilty of murder under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the father’s death case. It, however, awarded the maximum sentence for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the IPC after holding that there was no intention to kill.
Sengar’s appeals in the main rape case against the December 2019 judgement sentencing him to imprisonment for the remainder of his life, as well as in the case involving the death of the survivor’s father, are pending in the high court.
His sentence was suspended by the high court on December 23, 2025, till the pendency of his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence in the rape case. The apex court stayed the suspension on December 29. (PTI)
