The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Delhi High
Court to accord an out-of-turn hearing to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh
Sengar's plea challenging his conviction in the custodial death case of the
Unnao rape survivor's father, and said it should be decided within three
months.
While refusing to entertain Sengar's plea
challenging a January 19 order of the high court, a bench of Chief Justice of
India Surya Kant, and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria said the appeal,
if any, filed by the victim's family should also be heard by the high court
along with Sengar's petition.
The bench was hearing Sengar's plea challenging the
high court's order that had refused to suspend his 10-year jail term in the
case.
During the hearing, the CJI expressed disapproval
over the victim's counsel giving statements in the media about the case.
"We are not sitting in an ivory tower. We know a media trial is going on
outside," Justice Kant said, adding he would not tolerate any
"parallel trial" outside the court.
The bench was informed that Sengar's appeal is
slated to come up for hearing before the high court on February 11.
On March 13, 2020, Sengar was sentenced to 10 years'
rigorous imprisonment by a trial court, along with a fine of Rs 10 lakh, in the
case. The trial court had said "no leniency" could be shown for
killing a family's "sole bread earner".
The rape survivor's father was arrested at the
behest of Sengar under the Arms Act and died in custody on April 9, 2018, owing
to police brutalities. Sengar had kidnapped the minor and raped her in 2017.
The trial court did not hold the accused guilty of
murder under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the father's death case, but
awarded the maximum sentence for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting
to murder under Section 304 of the IPC after holding that there was no
intention to kill.
Sengar's appeals in the main rape case against the
December 2019 judgement sentencing him to imprisonment for the remainder of his
life, as well as in the case involving the death of the survivor's father, are
pending in the high court.
His sentence was suspended by the high court on
December 23, 2025, till the pendency of his appeal challenging his conviction
and sentence in the rape case. The apex court stayed the suspension on December
29.