The
Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Delhi High Court order that granted bail to
former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017
Unnao rape case.
The
matter was heard by a vacation bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and
Justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih.
"Tentatively,
we are inclined to stay the order. Generally, the principle is since the person
has walked out, the court does not take away the liberty. But here, the
situation is peculiar since he is inside the jail for another case," Chief
Justice Kant was quoted.
"Legal issue requires
consideration, and the judges of the high court who passed this order are some
of the finest judges. But we are all prone to committing errors! Please see
this definition of public servant under Pocso...we are worried that a constable
shall be a public servant under the Act, but an MLA will be excluded," he
added. Welcoming the Supreme Court decision, the rape case survivor on
Monday expressed satisfaction over the stay, according to a report by PTI. She also said that she has full faith in the
justice system.
CBI challenged Delhi High Court decision
The hearing took place after the Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI) challenged a Delhi High Court decision that
put Sengar’s life imprisonment on hold. On December 23, the high court stated
that Sengar had already completed seven years and five months in prison.
The CBI approached the Supreme
Court on December 26 to oppose this order.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta,
appearing for the CBI, said the trial court had found Sengar guilty beyond
doubt. He also highlighted that Sengar was “in a position of dominance”,
whether or not he was a public servant at the time of the crime, as the
survivor was a child under 16 years.
Sengar was given a life sentence
by a trial court in December 2019 in the Unnao rape case.
He later filed an appeal against this judgment, which has not yet been decided.
In the same year, the Supreme Court had shifted the rape case and connected
matters to Delhi from Uttar Pradesh on its directions.
Sengar
is also serving a separate 10-year sentence in the case related to the
custodial death of the survivor’s father. His appeal in that matter is also
pending, and he has asked for suspension of that sentence as well.