new DelhiThe Delhi High Court on Monday directed that the bail plea of former Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a minor girl in the state’s Unnao in 2017, be taken up for hearing on December 22. to be listed before another bench. He had sought an interim bail of two months from the court to attend his daughter’s wedding, which is scheduled on February 8, 2023 and the celebrations would begin on January 18.
A division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Talwant Singh directed the matter to be listed before a bench other than Justice Singh. “List this application before a Bench of which one of us, namely Justice Talwant Singh, is not a member, subject to obtaining directions from the Chief Justice,” it ordered.
Sengar’s appeal against the trial court’s order in the rape case is pending in the High Court, seeking reliefs such as setting aside of the trial court’s December 16, 2019 judgment and setting aside its December 20, 2019 order. for the rest of his life.
The trial court had convicted Sengar under various provisions including IPC section 376(2) (rape committed by a public servant) and also imposed an exemplary fine of Rs 25 lakh on him.
The hearing began on August 5, 2019, after the Supreme Court on August 1 directed the transfer of all five cases related to the case from Unnao to Delhi. The top court had directed to conduct the hearing on day-to-day basis and complete it within 45 days.