New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Monday granted interim bail to expelled BJP leader and Unnao rape case convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar to undergo an eye surgery on February 4.
A bench of Justices Yashwant Varma and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar suspended Sengar's sentence of life imprisonment and directed him to surrender before the jail authorities on February 5.
In view of the reprieve given by the division bench, single judge Justice Vikas Mahajan extended the same relief to Sengar in the case over the custodial death of the survivor's father and temporarily suspended the 10-year jail term in this matter.
The division bench noted that the former MLA’s cataract surgery was fixed on February 4 in AIIMS Delhi.
“… we are of the opinion that the sentence warrants to be suspended for the purpose of applicant’s medical procedure which is fixed for February 4, 2025 subject to conditions identical to those set forth in December 20, 2024 order. The applicant shall surrender on February 5 before the jail superintendent,” it said.
The counsel said Sengar’s surgery couldn't be performed on the scheduled date due to circumstances beyond his control.
The court had granted interim bail to the politician for the surgery but the survivor's lawyer opposed the plea and argued he could not be given interim bail endlessly.
Sengar's plea for interim bail formed part of his appeal against the December 2019 trial court's verdict in the rape case, which is pending in the high court.
He sought setting aside of his conviction and sentence.
Sengar's appeal against the conviction in the case of survivor's father's custodial death case is also pending, where he has sought suspension of sentence on ground that he has already undergone a substantial period in jail.
The minor girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped by Sengar in 2017.
On March 13, 2020, Sengar was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by the trial court, which also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh, in the custodial death case of the rape survivor's father. The trial court said "no leniency" could be shown for killing a family's "sole bread earner".
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. PTI SKV ADS AMK