Expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar (File photo)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant immediate relief to rape convict and former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the custodial death case of the Unnao rape victim’s father, but requested the Delhi High Court to hear his plea seeking suspension of sentence and bail.A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asked the High Court to expedite the proceedings and complete the hearing within three months. “We deem it a fit case to request the High Court to hear the appeal and decide the same but not later than three months,” the apex court said.This comes just weeks after the Delhi high court denied bail to Sengar in the case related to the custodial death of father of Unnao rape survivor. The cases stem from FIRs lodged in 2018 at the Makhi police station in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, and were tried by the District and Sessions Judge (West) at the Tis Hazari Courts in Delhi, at the time.According to the prosecution, the minor survivor was allegedly lured on the pretext of a job on June 4, 2017, and raped at Sengar’s residence. On April 3, 2018, when the survivor’s family travelled to Unnao for a court hearing, her father was allegedly assaulted in public.He was arrested the following day on charges under the Arms Act and died in police custody on April 9, 2018, reportedly due to multiple injuries.