The Delhi High Court granted interim bail to former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is serving a life sentence for the 2017 rape of a minor in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district. The bail was approved to facilitate Sengar's cataract surgery.
A bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur ordered Sengar's release on January 23, 2025, allowing him to be admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on January 24. The court stipulated that if the surgery did not occur on the scheduled date, Sengar must surrender to jail the same day. Additionally, the court mandated that a Delhi Police constable be stationed outside Sengar's hospital ward to ensure security during the procedure. Sengar is required to surrender back to jail by January 27, 2025, with the court emphasizing that no further extensions would be granted.
This is the second instance of Sengar receiving medical bail. Previously, the court had granted him interim bail on medical grounds until December 20, 2024, for evaluation at AIIMS. This bail was subsequently extended until January 20, 2025. Following the expiration of this period, Sengar surrendered to Tihar Jail authorities on January 20, 2025. He then filed a new application seeking a 30-day suspension of his sentence to undergo cataract surgery. His legal representative, Senior Advocate Manish Vashisht, informed the court that Sengar required urgent attention for retinal issues necessitating both cataract surgery and laser therapy.
The application faced opposition from Advocate Mehmood Pracha, representing the complainant, who argued that the court had previously declined to extend Sengar's medical bail and should not permit further extensions. Despite this, the court granted interim bail until January 27, 2025, in light of Sengar's medical needs.
Sengar's appeal challenging his conviction in the Unnao rape case is currently pending. He is also serving a 10-year sentence related to the custodial death of the rape victim's father. His plea for interim bail in that case remains under consideration by another bench of the high court.
The Unnao rape case, which came to light in 2018, involved the kidnapping and rape of a minor by Sengar in 2017. The case, along with related matters, was transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh following directions from the Supreme Court on August 1, 2019.
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