New Delhi, Feb 7 (NationPress) The Supreme Court is set to review the bail request of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar on February 9 concerning the custodial death of the father of the Unnao rape survivor, according to a lawyer's statement made on Saturday.

Sengar is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in relation to this case.

The application he filed in the apex court contests a prior ruling from the Delhi High Court which denied his request for a suspension of his jail sentence in the custodial death matter.

On January 19, Justice Ravinder Dudeja of the High Court dismissed Sengar's plea, highlighting the serious nature of the crime, his criminal history, and the lack of any new developments.

Justice Dudeja pointed out that while the court acknowledged Sengar had spent approximately 7.5 years in jail out of his total 10-year sentence, the delays in addressing his appeal were partly due to his own repeated filings, including requests for suspension of the sentence.

The single-judge Bench emphasized that the appeal must be evaluated based on its merits and instructed that it be heard promptly.

Sengar was found guilty by a Delhi court in March 2020 for conspiring in the custodial death of the rape survivor's father and was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years.

The proceedings related to this case and other incidents associated with the Unnao case were transferred from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi by the Supreme Court in August 2019, with a mandate for daily hearings.

This case stems from an event in April 2018, during which the father of the minor rape victim was allegedly attacked by Sengar's associates in Unnao. The following day, the victim's father was arrested for illegal possession of arms and subsequently died in police custody due to severe injuries.

Earlier, in June 2024, the Delhi High Court had dismissed a similar plea from Sengar, stating that given the seriousness of the crime, his criminal background, and the importance of public trust in the justice system, he was not entitled to a suspension of his jail term.

In December 2019, Sengar was convicted in a case involving the rape of a minor girl and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Recently, the Delhi High Court had suspended his life sentence related to the 2017 Unnao rape case and granted him bail pending appeal.

However, the Supreme Court stayed the execution of this order, citing the case's 'peculiar facts' and clarifying that Sengar would remain in custody.