DELHI HC REFUSES BAIL TO KULDEEP SENGAR IN CUSTODIAL DEATH LINKED TO UNNAO RAPE SURVIVOR

The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to grant bail to former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengarin the case relating to the custodial death of the father of the Unnao rape survivor, holding that he isnot entitled to suspension of sentence despite having spent a substantial period in jail.

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Justice Ravinder Dudeja rejected Sengar’s plea seeking bail and suspension of his sentence in the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the custodial death that occurred in 2018. While noting that Sengar has already undergone nearly seven-and-a-half years of imprisonment out of the total 10-year sentence awarded to him in this case, the Court observed that the delay in the hearing of his appeal against conviction could not be a decisive ground for granting bail, particularly since the delay was partly attributable to Sengar himself.

The Court pointed out that Sengar had filed multiple applications during the pendency of the appeal, which contributed to the delay in its adjudication. In view of this, the High Court held that he could not claim the benefit of prolonged incarceration as a standalone reason to seek bail at this stage. A detailed order setting out the Court's reasoning is awaited.