New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has decided to challenge the order of the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that suspended the life imprisonment of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case.
“The agency has studied the orders of the High Court and will immediately file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court,” a CBI spokesperson said Wednesday evening. “CBI has studied the orders in the Unnao rape case and has decided to file an SLP before Supreme Court at the earliest against the orders of the High Court granting bail to the accused by suspension of the sentence.”
It “vehemently” opposed Sengar’s bail plea in HC, moved months after his conviction in December 2019, more than two years after he was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl from his constituency on the pretext of rape, the spokesperson said.
“The CBI has filed timely replies and written arguments in this matter. The family of the victim has also opposed the petition citing safety and threats. CBI will immediately challenge this order,” the agency spokesperson added.
The CBI had booked Sengar in April 2018, days after the survivor attempted to self-immolate herself outside the office of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. It filed two charge sheets—one against the former BJP MLA for the offence of rape and the second against him, his brothers and policemen on charges of framing the survivor’s father as accused of hatching a plot.
The announcement of an appeal came hours after the survivor announced the same move, i.e., filing a petition in the Supreme Court to challenge the order.
As ThePrint reported on Wednesday, a division bench of Delhi High Court observed that Sengar was not a public servant at the time of the offence, despite being an MLA at the time. Hence, he would not be covered under Section 5 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and not attract a life term as punishment.
Section 5 deals with aggravated penetrative sexual assault of a child by someone who holds authority or a position of power. The categories covered under this provision include police officers, members of the armed or security forces, and hospital staff or management, among others.
Moreover, as the CBI’s case against Sengar was lodged before the amendment to the POCSO in 2019, the maximum punishment could not extend beyond seven years as per the provisions of the pre-amended Act.
However, Sengar will not come out of jail, as he is serving a separate 10-year jail term in a case related to the killing of the victim’s father.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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