New Delhi, Dec 29: 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.
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 decision.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, urged the court to stay the high court order, contending that substantial questions of law were involved. Accepting the submission, the bench observed that the matter required detailed examination and directed that Sengar shall not be released from custody pursuant to the Delhi High Court’s December 23 order.
The apex court noted that significant legal issues arise for consideration and listed the matter for hearing after four weeks.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had suspended Sengar’s life sentence, noting that he had already served over seven years and five months in prison. The suspension was granted pending disposal of his appeal challenging the December 2019 trial court verdict convicting him in the rape case.
However, Sengar will continue to remain in jail as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in the custodial death case of the rape survivor’s father and has not been granted bail in that matter.
The rape case and other related cases were transferred from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi on August 1, 2019, following directions from the Supreme Court.
