New Delhi The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to suspend the 10-year jail sentence awarded to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the custodial death of Unnao rape victim's father.
Justice Swarn Kanta Sharma rejected Sengar's plea seeking suspension of his sentence pending his appeal against conviction.
The court said, "This Court is not inclined to allow the present application seeking suspension of sentence at this stage. Accordingly, the present application is dismissed."
Sengar sought suspension of his sentence on the grounds that he had already served almost 6 years of the sentence and the prosecution's case against him was based entirely on circumstantial evidence.However, Justice Sharma said that once an accused is convicted, the presumption of innocence goes away. , and his application for suspension of sentence should be considered prima facie on the basis of his role, gravity of the offence, etc. The length of time spent in prison is only one of these many factors.
The court in its judgment said that while deciding the issue of suspension of sentence, factors such as the nature of the crime, criminal background of the convict, impact on public confidence and danger to the victims will also have to be kept in mind.
The court said that Sengar has already been convicted of raping the minor daughter of the deceased man and has been sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of his life in that case.Sengar's appeal challenging the trial court's verdict in the main Unnao rape case is already pending in the High Court. He has sought to quash the trial court's December 16, 2019 verdict, which had convicted him in the rape case. Sengar has also sought quashing of the order dated December 20, 2019, in which he was sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of his life.
The girl was kidnapped in 2017 and raped by Sengar when she was a minor.
On March 13, 2020, the trial court had sentenced Sengar to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment besides a fine of Rs 10 lakh in the case of custodial death of the rape victim's father.The trial court had said that "no leniency" can be shown for the murder of the "sole breadwinner" of a family. It had sentenced Sengar's brother Atul Singh Sengar and five others to 10 years in jail for their role in the custodial killing. Father of rape victim.
The girl's father was arrested under the Arms Act on Sengar's orders and died in custody due to police brutality on April 9, 2018.
The trial court, which did not hold the accused guilty of murder under the IPC, holding that there was no intention to commit murder, sentenced the convicts to the maximum punishment for the offense of culpable homicide under Section 304 of the IPC.
On August 1, 2019, the case was transferred from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi on the directions of the Supreme Court.
Justice Swarn Kanta Sharma rejected Sengar's plea seeking suspension of his sentence pending his appeal against conviction.
The court said, "This Court is not inclined to allow the present application seeking suspension of sentence at this stage. Accordingly, the present application is dismissed."
Sengar sought suspension of his sentence on the grounds that he had already served almost 6 years of the sentence and the prosecution's case against him was based entirely on circumstantial evidence.However, Justice Sharma said that once an accused is convicted, the presumption of innocence goes away. , and his application for suspension of sentence should be considered prima facie on the basis of his role, gravity of the offence, etc. The length of time spent in prison is only one of these many factors.
The court in its judgment said that while deciding the issue of suspension of sentence, factors such as the nature of the crime, criminal background of the convict, impact on public confidence and danger to the victims will also have to be kept in mind.
The court said that Sengar has already been convicted of raping the minor daughter of the deceased man and has been sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of his life in that case.Sengar's appeal challenging the trial court's verdict in the main Unnao rape case is already pending in the High Court. He has sought to quash the trial court's December 16, 2019 verdict, which had convicted him in the rape case. Sengar has also sought quashing of the order dated December 20, 2019, in which he was sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of his life.
The girl was kidnapped in 2017 and raped by Sengar when she was a minor.
On March 13, 2020, the trial court had sentenced Sengar to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment besides a fine of Rs 10 lakh in the case of custodial death of the rape victim's father.The trial court had said that "no leniency" can be shown for the murder of the "sole breadwinner" of a family. It had sentenced Sengar's brother Atul Singh Sengar and five others to 10 years in jail for their role in the custodial killing. Father of rape victim.
The girl's father was arrested under the Arms Act on Sengar's orders and died in custody due to police brutality on April 9, 2018.
The trial court, which did not hold the accused guilty of murder under the IPC, holding that there was no intention to commit murder, sentenced the convicts to the maximum punishment for the offense of culpable homicide under Section 304 of the IPC.
On August 1, 2019, the case was transferred from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi on the directions of the Supreme Court.
