New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday hinted that it may stay the Delhi High Court order that suspended the life sentence and granted bail to expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case.

“We are inclined to stay the (Delhi HC) order. Generally, the principle is that if a person has been released on bail, the court does not set aside the order ex parte. However, the situation here is peculiar, since he continues to be in custody in connection with another case,” observed a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant.

The Bench, also comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih, is hearing the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) plea challenging the December 23 order of the Delhi High Court that suspended Sengar’s sentence during the pendency of his appeal.

Appearing for the CBI, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta opened his arguments by placing on record the trial court’s conviction order, highlighting that the victim was below 16 years of age — approximately 15 years and 10 months — at the time the offence of rape was committed on her.

SG Mehta contended that the Delhi High Court “erred” in concluding that a legislator would not fall within the category of a “public servant” for the purpose of sentencing.

The Centre’s second-highest law officer added that Sengar could not walk out of jail as he is serving a separate 10-year sentence in cases linked to the death of the survivor’s father in 2018.

“This convict was held guilty of murdering the father of the survivor. He is still in jail for that. I urge the conscience of this court to stay this order for the sake of the child who was a victim of this,” the Solicitor General submitted.

Earlier, the CBI and the survivor’s family had indicated their intention to challenge the Delhi High Court’s decision before the apex court.

The bail order had also triggered protests by the survivor’s family and women’s rights activists, who said it had “shaken public faith” and sent a wrong message on crimes against women.

In December 2019, the trial court had convicted Sengar of kidnapping and raping a minor girl and sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life, along with a fine of Rs 25 lakh.

The Supreme Court had earlier transferred all cases related to the incident from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi and directed a day-to-day trial.

In an order passed on December 23, a Division Bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar of the Delhi High Court had suspended Sengar’s life sentence and granted him conditional bail during the pendency of his appeal, subject to strict conditions.

–IANS

pds/vd