A Delhi court on Friday sentenced expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar to imprisonment for the remainder of his life for raping a minor in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao in 2017, fined him Rs 25 lakh, and ordered investigators to carry out a three-monthly assessment of a perceived threat to the life and security of the survivor and her family.
District judge Dharmesh Sharma ordered that the fine be paid within a month. Out of the money, Rs 10 lakh will go to the survivor, who was 16 years old when the rape took place, and the remaining to the Uttar Pradesh government for defraying the expenses incurred on the trial, said the judge.
The judge directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue assessing the “threat perception” to the life and security of the victim and her family members every three months. After expiry of the lease of the family’s rented accommodation, the agency shall ensure that the lease is extended for a reasonable period of time.
Sengar, a four-time Uttar Pradesh lawmaker, was on Monday convicted of raping the woman in June 2017 when she approached him for help in getting a job. Co-accused Shashi Singh, who had allegedly taken the rape victim to Sengar’s house, was given the benefit of doubt and acquitted.
Sengar, 54, had pleaded with the judge at his trial to keep the fine minimal and not go by the election affidavit that listed his assets at Rs 1.44 crore.
{{/usCountry}}Sengar, 54, had pleaded with the judge at his trial to keep the fine minimal and not go by the election affidavit that listed his assets at Rs 1.44 crore.
{{/usCountry}}The judge, who had praised the rape survivor for the fight she waged against a powerful politician, observed in his sentencing order on Friday that Sengar had betrayed the trust reposed in him by the people.
“…it may be reiterated that convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar was a ‘public servant’ when he committed the depraved act of aggravated penetrative sexual assault upon the minor girl... every coercive measure was adopted by the convict himself and through his henchmen to intimidate, harm and silence the victim girl and her family members from raising any voice against him,” judge Sharma said.
“The convict was a key democratic functionary being representative of the people and the offence committed by the convict has eroded the faith of the people to which he owed allegiance and a duty to exhibit upright moral behaviour and probity in personal and public life.”
The court also directed that the rape survivor and her family reside in the rented accommodation, which was made available to them by social workers of the Delhi Commission for Women and the state of Uttar Pradesh, for a period of one year.
Appearing for CBI, the public prosecutor had sought maximum punishment for the convict. Opposing the submissions, Sengar’s lawyers Tanveer Ahmed Mir, Dhruv Gupta and Tushan Rawal contended that he was the sole income earner in his family and had two daughters of marriageable age. The court was also informed that Sengar had borrowed money for his daughter’s studies from relatives as he was not able to access his bank account.
As soon as the court pronounced the sentence, Sengar and his daughter, who was present in the court, started sobbing.
In its detailed December 16 judgment, a copy of which was accessed by HT, the court said that the victim’s testimony was trustworthy, reliable and cogent. It said there was no doubt that there had been a delay in the lodging of a first information report (FIR) in the case because she had been sexually assaulted by a “powerful man”.
“There is no doubt there was a delay of about two months and 10 days in reporting the alleged incident of June 4, 2017. At the same time, due regard must be had to the rural background of the victim / survivor girl, her predicament of having been sexually assaulted by a powerful man, a Bahubali [strongman] of the area and her understanding or trust or betrayal in the words of Shashi Singh that nobody could dare to raise voice against the [MLA Sengar], whose brother had even attempted to kill a Superintendent of Police but no action was taken in law,” the court said in a 131-page judgment.
The court also rejected the contention of the defence team that the survivor was tutored by her uncle to seek vengeance against Sengar because of a long-running family feud.
The court also pulled up CBI for perceived lapses in the investigation and said the agency did not explain delay in the filing of the charge sheet. It noted that the survivor and her family members had beyond doubt proved that she was a minor at the time of the incident, belying suggestions by the defence team that she wasn’t.
The survivor expressed happiness that justice had prevailed, noting that she lost four members of her family while waging the battle for justice. Only recently was she discharged from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, where she had been undergoing treatment for potentially life-threatening injuries she suffered when the car in which she was travelling was involved in a collision with a truck on July 28.
After the collision, in which she lost two aunts and her advocate suffered critical injuries and continues to be in hospital, the Supreme Court had intervened and shifted the case to New Delhi. “I kept losing family members but people stood by me. The accused is mighty and the fight for justice against him was painful. I lost my father, two aunts and grandmother and using his influence, he put my uncle behind bars.”
She added, “We were alone. I am thankful to all those who stood by me. Had not the Supreme Court intervened, justice would have continued to remain elusive.”
On being asked whether she was satisfied with the punishment that had been awarded to Sengar, she said, “I am not satisfied because I will not get my father and other family members back.”