Unnao Rape Case: Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Kuldeep Singh Sengar's Bail Plea

The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought response of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the bail plea moved by former BJP member Kuldeep Singh Sengar who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in Unnao rape case.

Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar issued notice on the bail plea while posting the matter for further hearing on May 25.

Sengar was convicted under Section 376 IPC and section 5(c) and 6 of POCSO Act in the year 2019 by Additional District Judge Dharmesh Sharma, Tis Hazari, Delhi. He was awarded life sentence till the end of life.

The Court had found that Sengar had sexually assaulted the survivor at Makhi village on June 4, 2017, when she was a minor aged around 16 years.

Sengar's appeal against the order of conviction is pending adjudication in the High Court.

Today, the Bench had also issued notice on Sengar's application seeking production of additional evidence in support of the appeal filed by him against the trial court's decision.

The trial in the matter was fast-tracked after being transferred to Delhi from UP on orders from Supreme Court. 

The apex court, taking cognisance of the rape survivor's letter written to then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, had transferred all five cases registered in connection with the Unnao rape incident from a Lucknow court in Uttar Pradesh to the court in Delhi with directions to hold trial on a daily basis and completing it within 45 days.

During the trial in the rape case which was held in-camera, thirteen prosecution witnesses and nine defence witnesses were examined. The mother and uncle of the rape survivor were the main witnesses in the case.

The Court had specifically noted that the investigation has not been conducted by a woman officer as mandated by Section 24 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012. The successive statements of the victim girl had been recorded by calling her at the CBI office "without bothering for the kind of harassment, anguish and re-victimization that occurs to a a victim of sexual assault", the court had observed.

The Court had also slammed the CBI for the delay of over one year in filing the chargesheet, after they had taken over the investigation from UP police in April 2018. The chargesheet was filed only on October 3, 2019.

The Court had also found that the CBI had "selectively leaked" vital information from the statements of witnesses with an attempt to put a cloud over the case of complainant. Also, there was non-examination of huge data retrieved from the mobile phones of Kuldeep Singh Sengar and Mahesh Singh (uncle of the survivor).

Sengar was however discharged in December last year in connection with the rape survivor car accident case.

Case Title: Kuldeep Singh Sengar v. CBI