Unnao: Unnao rape case: The Supreme Court, in a firm stand taken on Friday, quashed the Delhi High Court order suspending the life imprisonment of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar. By virtue of this order, Sengar, who was accused of raping a minor in 2017 in Unnao, will go back to jail.
‘Hyper-technical’ view on POCSO not endorsed by SC
Justice Surya Kant, the Chief Justice of India, and Justice Joymalya Bagchi did not appreciate the view of the High Court that an MLA can never be considered a public servant. The Delhi High Court had said that the POCSO Act does not consider an MLA to be a “public servant,” which is one of the conditions in the act for a case to be eligible for bail.
“We do not endorse the hyper-technical conclusion of the High Court that an MLA is not a public servant under POCSO,” said Justice Bagchi.
New mandate for Delhi High Court
In quashing the release order, the Supreme Court clarified that it was not expressing any opinions about the merit of the pending appeal filed by Sengar. On the other hand, it ordered the Delhi High Court to:
Ensure fast-tracked hearing of the appeal: A decision regarding the matter should be made within two months.
Rethink the bail application: If the hearing of the appeal cannot be completed within two months, then the High Court will have to rehear the petition for the suspension of the sentence, without considering its earlier reasoning of being “a public servant.”
Protests & ‘bus incident’ trigger controversy
The Supreme Court order comes at a time when there have been many protests in New Delhi against the release of Sengar, a member of parliament, on interim bail. His temporary release, through which he got provisional liberty on the payment of ₹15 lakh, had triggered strong reactions and protests in Delhi.
Public outrage reached a boiling point following an incident where both the survivor and her mother were threatened by the security personnel while protesting against the crime. In a shocking video that went viral, the mother was reportedly forced to jump off a speeding bus while she was still carrying her child in her arms.
“We got no justice. My child is still being held captive. I feel like we are going to be murdered,” said the distraught mother in an interview with the media.
Despite the CRPF insisting that the survivor was “being escorted,” the absence of any official statement explaining why the mother was made to get off the vehicle has led to accusations that they were subjected to intimidation by the central force.
Seven-year legal battle
Four-term MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019 for sexually assaulting a minor girl. Following a suspension of his sentence for seven-and-a-half years, which, according to the high court, was “more than the minimum” needed to qualify for bail, the Supreme Court’s ruling today makes the previous period insufficient to keep Sengar out of prison.
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