The Supreme Court on Monday permitted the Unnao rape survivor to be impleaded as a party in the petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the suspension of life imprisonment of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the victim has a right to be heard in proceedings that directly affect her interests.
“We are of the view that the victim has the right to be heard,” the Chief Justice said, allowing the survivor to participate in the case and granting her two weeks to file an affidavit opposing the suspension of Sengar’s life sentence.
The court noted that victims are entitled to participate in proceedings impacting their rights, referring to the Supreme Court’s earlier judgement in the Lakhimpur Kheri case.
However, the bench rejected an intervention application filed by a relative of the survivor who alleged threats to his life and liberty. The court said he could pursue an independent legal remedy and approach the high court for protection.
The bench did not take up the CBI’s petition challenging the suspension of Sengar’s sentence as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the probe agency, was unavailable on Monday.
Senior advocate N Hariharan, representing Sengar, urged the court to list the matter for hearing at the earliest, arguing that the liberty granted to his client by the Delhi High Court had already been curtailed.
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The Chief Justice said that a date for hearing the matter would be fixed soon.
On December 29 last year, the apex court had stayed the Delhi High Court’s order suspending Sengar’s life sentence in the 2017 Unnao rape case and directed that he should not be released from custody.
While hearing the CBI’s plea earlier, the court had observed that substantial questions of law had arisen in the matter and required consideration.
The top court had also issued notice to Sengar seeking his response to the CBI’s plea.
The Delhi High Court had on December 23 suspended Sengar’s life sentence in the case during the pendency of his appeal, noting that he had already spent over seven years in prison.
Sengar had been convicted in December 2019 by a trial court in the Unnao rape case. The case and related proceedings were transferred to Delhi from Uttar Pradesh in 2019 on the directions of the Supreme Court.
Sengar continues to remain in jail as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in the custodial death case of the survivor’s father.
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