Today, On 17th June, A Delhi High Court judge recused from hearing the plea of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar to suspend his sentence in the Unnao rape case. Sengar was convicted for the 2017 rape of a minor and is currently serving a life sentence. The judge did not provide specific reasons for stepping aside from the case. The matter will now be assigned to another bench for further proceedings.
New Delhi: Justice Dharmesh Sharma of the Delhi High Court recused himself from hearing former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s request for suspension of his sentence in the Unnao minor rape case, for which he is currently serving a life sentence.
Justice Sharma had previously convicted and sentenced Sengar while serving as a session judge at Tis Hazari. Sengar has already appealed the trial court’s ruling in the High Court since 2018.
A division bench led by Justice Prathiba M. Singh has scheduled the matter before another bench, pending an order from the Chief Justice’s bench on January 27.
Meanwhile, the High Court has denied Sengar’s request to extend his interim bail and ordered him to surrender by January 20. He had been granted medical bail in December 2024 by the division bench until January 20.
Advocate Kanhaiya Singhal argued that Sengar needs to undergo cataract surgery at AIIMS on January 24.
The bench responded,
“First, you surrender. Thereafter we will see.”
Sengar had previously received medical bail related to the custodial death case of the victim’s father, in which he is serving a ten-year sentence.
The case pertains to the kidnapping and rape of a minor girl by Sengar in 2017.
Additionally, on March 13, 2020, the trial court sentenced Sengar to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs. 10 lakh, in the case related to the death of the rape victim’s father while in custody. The trial court emphasized that no leniency could be shown, given that the victim’s father was the sole breadwinner of the family.
In addition to Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s conviction, the trial court also awarded 10 years of imprisonment to Sengar’s brother, Atul Singh Sengar, and five other individuals for their role in the custodial killing of the rape victim’s father.
Read Also: Dalit Rape Case| Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Minor Girl’s Rape in Uttar Pradesh
The rape victim’s father arrested on the orders of Sengar under the Arms Act. He subsequently died in custody on April 9, 2018, due to police brutality. Although the trial court did not find the accused guilty of murder under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), it awarded the maximum sentence for the offense of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, under Section 304 of the IPC. The court noted that, no intention to kill on the part of the accused.
The case originally being heard in a trial court in Uttar Pradesh but later transferred to Delhi, on the directions of the Supreme Court, on August 1, 2019.
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