New Delhi: The Unnao rape survivor on Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court against its order granting interim bail to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the case, from January 27 to February 10 to allow him attend his daughter’s wedding.
She has also requested that additional restrictions are imposed on him during his release period as she had been receiving information that Sengar is going to harm her and her family.
“The apprehension of the applicant as regards her safety, and that of her family, has increased, especially in consideration of the fact that the appellant, upon being released on bail, is permitted to use his mobile phone, and he is likely to conspire with and influence his known persons in the administration in order to harass the present applicant, and to create security risks,” the application reads.
A division bench of Justices Mukta Gupta and Anoop Kumar Mendiratta issued notice on the plea to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and listed the matter for the next hearing on January 27.
A week back, the survivor had opposed the court’s decision of granting interim bail to Sengar.
Via a video and written statement, she had expressed her apprehensions to President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, claiming that her and her family members’ lives are under threat.
In her letter shared on social media, she had also claimed that her uncle could not get an interim bail for her sister’s marriage due to a conspiracy hatched by Sengar’s family members.
On January 15, the court had granted bail to Sengar in the rape case and four days later, he was granted bail in victim’s father’s custodial death case.
The bench had asked Sengar to report to the Station House Officer concerned on a daily basis during his bail period from January 27 to February 10 and furnish two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each.
In the rape matter, moreover, Justice Gupta had raised a concern saying that wedding ceremonies of Sengar’s daughters have been scheduled for so many days and everything can be completed in a few days.
In response, the counsel representing Sengar had submitted that he is the father and the ceremony dates are given by the priest.
Senior advocates N. Hariharan and P.K. Dubey, who appeared for Sengar, had informed the court that as Sengar is the only male member in the family, he has to make all the wedding arrangements, which are going to be held in Gorakhpur and Lucknow.
Meanwhile, counsel representing the CBI had said that a status report has been filed by the agency and it was found that two halls have been booked for the wedding rituals.
A bench of Justices Gupta and Poonam A. Bamba, on December 22, 2022, had directed the CBI to verify the facts of Sengar’s bail plea and place a status report on record.
Sengar’s plea against the trial court’s order in the rape case is pending in the high court with him having sought reliefs like quashing of the trial court’s December 16, 2019 judgment, which convicted him, and the December 20, 2019 order sentencing him to imprisonment till the rest of his life.
The trial court had convicted Sengar under various provisions of the IPC and also imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh on him.
The trial started on August 5, 2019, after the Supreme Court on August 1 directed to transfer all five cases related to the matter from Unnao to Delhi.
The top court had directed to hold trial on a daily basis and complete it within 45 days.
–IANS