Unnao rape case: Delhi HC grants interim bail to Kuldeep Singh Sengar

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar on medical grounds in the 2017 Unnao rape case.

A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar said Sengar, who is serving life term in the case, would be released on January 23 to undergo a cataract surgery at AIIMS on the following day.

The bench directed the accused to surrender not later than January 27 once he was discharged from the hospital.

It also clarified if the surgery did not take place on January 24, Sengar should surrender the same evening.

"We suspend the sentence of the appellant.. On being discharged, he shall surrender back to jail superintendent, latest by January 27, 12 noon," the court said.

Sengar is also in custody in the case related to the custodial death of the survivor's father. His plea seeking suspension of the ten year jail sentence in that case is pending before another bench.

He was granted a two-week interim bail in December 2024 on account of his health, which was subsequently extended by another month.

The high court however refused to extend the same on January 20, the day he was directed to surrender, after noting the application for extension was not supplied to the survivor.

On Wednesday, Sengar's senior counsel sought interim bail for 30 days on the ground that he was advised to undergo a cataract surgery at AIIMS and he had to be admitted on January 24 -- a claim verified by the CBI.

The plea was opposed by the survivor's lawyer who argued that Sengar could not be given interim bail endlessly.

He said the survivor and her family were facing threats from the accused.

The court, while granting relief, said at present there was no allegation of violation of any of the terms and conditions imposed on Sengar when he was earlier given interim bail.

Sengar's plea for extension of interim bail formed part of his appeal against the December 2019 trial court's verdict in the rape case is pending before the high court. He has sought its quashing.

The minor girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped by Sengar in 2017.

The rape case and other connected cases were transferred to Delhi from a trial court in UP on the directions of the Supreme Court on August 1, 2019.