Kuldeep Sengar, convicted in Unnao rape case, to be sentenced today; CBI asks for maximum punishment

A Delhi court will on Monday decide on the quantum of sentence against expelled BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Sengar. He was convicted on Monday for raping a woman in Unnao in 2017.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has urged the court to give maximum punishment of life term, prescribed under the law, to the politician, saying it was a fight for justice of an individual against the system.

The counsel for the CBI and the complainant said the court must consider the “cry of the girls in heinous crimes”.

“The sentence must be commensurate with the gravity, seriousness and impact of the crime and its impact on the society at large should be considered. If we see the factual matrix of the case, right from the beginning it is a quest for justice of an individual against the system,” public prosecutor Ashok Bhartendu said.

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Dharmendra Mishra, counsel for the rape survivor and her family, told the court, “The woman lost her father, her two aunts. She has been suffering since 2017. She has been de-rooted from her roots.”

The counsel appearing for Sengar has, however, urged the court to give minimum punishment to him, 10-year jail term, saying he had no prior criminal record.

“He had a political career without any blemish. Since 2002-till date he has been elected repeatedly as a member of the legislative assembly by the public,” advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir, appearing for Sengar, said, adding that the convict did not have a “depraved mentality”.

Advocates Dhruv Gupta and Tushan Rawal, also appearing for Sengar, said that the politician was 54-year old and had two minor daughters.

The court had on Monday convicted Sengar for rape under the Indian Penal Code and the POCSO Act for offence by a public servant committing penetrative sexual assault against a child. The rape survivor was a minor when she was assaulted. Shashi Singh, the co-accused in the case, was acquitted on the benefit of doubt.

Singh was alleged to have taken the survivor to Sengar on the pretext of helping her get a job.