File photo: Kuldip Singh Sengar
NEW DELHI: CBI on Friday filed a special leave petition in Supreme Court against Delhi high court’s recent order suspending the sentence of expelled BJP ex-MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case.The probe agency has sought an immediate stay on the relief granted to Sengar, arguing against his release pending the final disposal of his appeal against conviction and life sentence. A division bench on HC had in its Tuesday order said that the trial court erred in categorising the former UP MLA as a ‘public servant’ and awarding the maximum punishment for ‘aggravated penetrative sexual assault’ under section 5 of Pocso Act. The bench stated that an MLA did not come under the definition of a ‘public servant’ either under Pocso Act or IPC, and hence Sengar’s offence did not fall within the ambit of Section 5.The trial court had convicted Sengar in Dec 2019 for the rape of a minor in Unnao in 2017, sentencing him to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25 lakh. While the former Unnao MLA moved Delhi high court in Jan 2020 challenging his conviction, in March 2022 he filed a petition seeking the suspension of his sentence. Throughout the proceedings, CBI and the survivor vehemently opposed any form of relief to Sengar, citing the gravity of his crime and the potential threat to the complainant and witnesses. But, the HC bench on Dec 23 granted him bail, subject to certain conditions. The order didn’t ensure immediate freedom for the former lawmaker, who is also serving a 10-year prison term in a case related to the custodial death of the rape survivor’s father.
