SC denies bail to Sengar in Unnao custodial death case

The top court said his appeal should be decided within three months.

The order came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted on behalf of the CBI that the victim's appeal for enhancement of sentence was listed for hearing before the high court on February 11.

On March 13, 2020, Sengar was sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment by a trial court, which also imposed a Rs 10 lakh fine on him. The trial court had said "no leniency" could be shown for killing a family's "sole bread earner".

"We grant liberty to the appellant in that case (victim) to mention the same before the high court. Let the Delhi High Court take up the appeal within one week and if it finds that it can be decided along with the appeal by Sengar, then both can be heard and decided together. If that requires change in composition of the Bench, the same can be done as well," said the Bench, which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice NV Anjaria.

Sengar had challenged the Delhi High Court’s January 19 order refusing to suspend his 10-year jail term in the case on the grounds of delay in trial. The delay was partly caused by multiple applications filed by the accused in the matter, the high court said.

On behalf of Sengar, senior counsel Siddharth Dave submitted that he had already spent more nine years and seven months in jail out of a term of 10 years.

Dave said some of the co-accused had been released on bail after serving their sentences.

The trial court, which did not hold the accused guilty of murder in the father's case, awarded him the maximum sentence for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder after holding that there was no intention to kill.

Sengar's appeals in the main rape case against the December 2019 judgment convicting him and sentencing him to imprisonment for the remainder of his life, as well as the father's case, are pending in the high court.