Unnao rape case convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was granted interim bail for cataract surgery, has returned to Tihar Jail due to the unavailability of the surgeon at AIIMS, his counsel informed the Delhi High Court on Monday.
A bench of Justices Yashwant Varma and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar was told that Sengar, serving a life sentence, returned to jail on January 24 after learning that the eye surgeon was unavailable until January 30. His counsel stated that Sengar would seek medical bail again on January 28 or 29.
The court has scheduled the hearing of Sengar’s appeal under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for February.
On January 22, the court had granted Sengar interim bail on medical grounds, directing him to surrender by January 27 after being discharged from the hospital. The bench also clarified that if his surgery did not occur on January 24, Sengar should surrender the same day.
Sengar’s counsel had requested a 30-day interim bail for the surgery, which was verified by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, the survivor’s lawyer opposed the plea, arguing that interim bail could not be extended indefinitely and citing threats faced by the survivor and her family.
The high court noted that Sengar had not violated any conditions of his previous interim bail but refused to grant further extensions on January 20 due to procedural lapses, including the survivor not being informed of the application.
Sengar, expelled from the BJP following the allegations, was convicted in December 2019 for the 2017 abduction and rape of a minor girl. The case, along with related matters, was transferred to Delhi from Uttar Pradesh on Supreme Court orders in August 2019.
In addition to his life sentence, Sengar is also in custody for the custodial death of the survivor’s father, with his appeal against the ten-year sentence in that case pending before another bench.
The court’s handling of Sengar’s medical bail highlights the ongoing tension between his health needs and concerns for the survivor’s safety.
Further hearings on his appeals are expected in February.
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