Unnao custodial death: Delhi HC says no order to extend interim bail, Jaideep Sengar should surrender

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said Jaideep Sengar, brother of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Sengar, should surrender as there were no orders extending an earlier interim bail granted to him on medical grounds in the custodial death case of the Unnao rape survivor's father.

The court was hearing Jaideep Sengar's plea seeking an extension of his interim bail by three months, which was opposed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Jaideep Sengar, 50, who was awarded a 10-year jail term in the case by a trial court, sought the extension as he was suffering from oral cancer. The CBI's counsel, however, said it was not a fit case for extension of interim bail, claiming that the prescription submitted by Jaideep Sengar in support of his plea was not genuine but fabricated.

In the pre-lunch session, the court orally said that the interim bail would be extended till the next date of hearing, i.e., February 20.

However, the matter was taken up again post lunch when the court observed that although the high court had granted interim bail to Jaideep Sengar on July 3, 2024, for two months on medical grounds, there were no specific orders extending it indefinitely.

Asking Jaideep Sengar to surrender, the court clarified that there was no extension of any interim order.

"Your interim bail was only for a particular period, and you should have surrendered. I just read the file, and there is no order (extending the interim bail)," the court said.

During the hearing in the pre-lunch session, the CBI counsel contended that Jaideep Sengar should have approached the court "well within time" for any such extension.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma asked the CBI to file a "detailed" verification report in the matter. "The CBI has also not filed a verification report. Please file a detailed verification report," the court said.

"You have to tell me whether this man is suffering to the extent that he deserves an extension. If he is not, you have to give me a clear report on whether this is genuine or not. Whether this man is critically ill or not critically ill," the court told the CBI counsel.

In his application, Jaideep Sengar said he was suffering from Stage IV oral cancer, a life-threatening condition, and had developed clinical signs of recurrence. The condition, the plea said, required continuous and specialised medical care. The plea also informed that Jaideep Sengar has spent about four years in custody.

Kuldeep Sengar was convicted of raping the Unnao survivor, for which he was sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of his life on December 20, 2019.

The girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped by Sengar in 2017 when she was a minor.

On March 13, 2020, Kuldeep Sengar, along with his brother Jaideep Sengar alias Atul Singh, was sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment by the trial court, which also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh, in the custodial death case of the rape survivor's father.

The girl's father was arrested, allegedly at the behest of the accused, under the Arms Act and died in custody on April 9, 2018, owing to police brutality.

The trial court said that no leniency could be shown for killing a family’s sole breadwinner. Their appeals against the trial court's judgment are pending in the high court.