New Delhi, December 23(HS): The Delhi High Court has suspended the life imprisonment sentence awarded to former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the high-profile Unnao rape case and granted him bail.

The order was passed by a bench headed by Justice Subramonium Prasad, which directed that Sengar’s sentence would remain suspended while his appeal against the trial court’s verdict is pending.The court instructed Sengar to remain in Delhi during the bail period and to stay at least five kilometers away from the victim’s residence.

Sengar had earlier challenged the trial court judgment that convicted him in the rape case.On December 16, 2019, the Tis Hazari Court had sentenced Sengar to 10 years of imprisonment for his involvement in the custodial death of the rape survivor’s father. The court also imposed a fine of ₹10 lakh on him.

Alongside Sengar, seven other accused were handed equal punishment of ten years in prison and a fine of ₹10 lakh each.The victim’s father had died in judicial custody on April 9, 2018.

Earlier, on June 4, 2017, after the rape allegation surfaced against Sengar, his brother Atul Singh and their associates had allegedly assaulted the victim’s father and handed him over to the police.

Just hours after being moved to jail, the rape survivor’s father died at the district hospital.In a separate verdict delivered on December 20, 2019, the Tis Hazari Court convicted Sengar in the rape case and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of ₹25 lakh, directing that ₹10 lakh from this amount be paid as compensation to the survivor.

Sengar has also appealed this verdict before the Delhi High Court, where the case remains pending.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar