Unnao Rape Victim Moves Delhi High Court Against Grant Of Interim Bail To Ex-BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar

The victim in the Unnao rape case has moved the Delhi High Court seeking recall of the order granting interim bail to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar. Sengar is facing life imprisonment in the case and has been granted the interim bail to allow him attend his daughter’s wedding. The victim has moved an application in Sengar’s appeal against his conviction to recall the order granting interim bail. In the alternative, she has prayed for additional restrictions to be imposed on him during his release.A division bench of Justice Mukta Gupta and Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta issued notice on the victim’s application and sought the response of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Sengar was earlier granted interim bail by court for a period of 15 days - January 27 to February 10. Followed by the order of division bench, a single judge also granted interim bail to Sengar with similar conditions in the murder case of victim’s father. Advocate Mehmood Pracha appearing for the victim referred to an affidavit filed in November last year by Special Secretary (Home) of Uttar Pradesh before the Supreme Court stating that there is a threat to lives of the victim, her family and lawyers. He submitted that even a SHO in the case was convicted along with Sengar for custodial death of victim’s father. Hearing this, Justice Mukta Gupta said: “We have said that he will report daily to the home department. Police comes under them. If they find SHO to be incompetent, let them post proper SHO. That’s within their domain.”As Pracha expressed the apprehension of danger by the police concerned as an SHO was convicted in the case, the bench remarked:“That doesn’t mean every SHO or police officer is not competent to deal with it. What we have said is that he will report everyday. They can keep surveillance over there. They can post 100 people, we are not concerned with that. It is up to UP government to look. Instead of filing this affidavit, they should take care of safety of victim and her family.”The counsel appearing for CBI apprised the court that Sengar has to report to the investigating officer of the probe agency and not the local SHO. Hearing the parties, the court listed the matter for hearing on January 27. In the application, the victim has submitted that after grant of interim bail, she has been receiving information that Sengar is going to harm her and her family.“The apprehension of the Applicant as regards her safety, and that of her family, has increased, especially in consideration of the fact that the Appellant, upon being released on bail, is permitted to use his mobile phone, and he is likely to conspire with and influence his known persons in the administration in order to harass the present Applicant, and to create security risks,” the application reads. The victim was repeatedly gang raped in 2017 by Sengar and his accomplices, when she was a minor.Sengar was convicted for raping the victim and for murdering her father in connivance with police officers of Makhi, a village in Unnao district. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment.The trial in the matter was transferred to Tis Hazari Courts by the Supreme Court in 2019 in the transfer petition moved by the survivor.The apex court, taking cognisance of the rape survivor's letter written to then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, had transferred all five cases registered in connection with the incident from a Lucknow court in Uttar Pradesh to the court in Delhi with directions to hold the trial on a daily basis and completing it within 45 days.Title: Kuldeep Singh Sengar v. CBI

Unnao Rape Victim Moves Delhi High Court Against Grant Of Interim Bail To Ex-BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar

Nupur Thapliyal

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