Will the Delhi HC Respond to the Survivor's Request for Increased Sentence for Kuldeep Sengar?
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New Delhi, Feb 19 (NationPress) – On Thursday, the Delhi High Court issued a notice regarding a plea from the Unnao rape survivor, who is seeking an increase in the sentence given to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in connection to her father's custodial death case.
A Division Bench, consisting of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja, has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Sengar, and other involved convicts to respond, with the next hearing scheduled for March 2.
The survivor's plea contests the severity of the punishment handed down to Sengar, advocating for a review of the 10-year rigorous imprisonment he received from a Delhi court.
Sengar was found guilty in March 2020 for orchestrating the custodial death of the rape survivor’s father and was sentenced to a decade of rigorous imprisonment.
This case stems from an incident in April 2018, when the father of the minor rape victim was allegedly attacked by Sengar's associates in Unnao. He was arrested the next day on charges of illegal possession of firearms and ultimately died in police custody due to multiple injuries.
The Supreme Court had previously transferred the trial, along with other related cases from the Unnao rape incident, from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi to guarantee a fair and swift judicial process.
Earlier this January, the Delhi High Court dismissed Sengar's second request for a suspension of his sentence and bail, emphasizing the serious nature of the crime, his prior criminal record, and the lack of any new developments.
Additionally, the Supreme Court had also turned down Sengar's plea to suspend his sentence, noting that his criminal appeal against conviction is still pending before the Delhi High Court.
On January 9, a Bench led by the Chief Justice of India requested that the Delhi High Court attempt to resolve Sengar’s appeal quickly, ideally within three months.
The apex court observed that if the survivor's appeal regarding the sentence increase is deemed valid, it would be just for all related appeals to be heard and decided together without delay.
Sengar is currently serving a life sentence following his conviction in December 2019 for the rape of a minor girl.