Delhi HC rejects Sengar’s plea to suspend 10-year jail sentence | News from India

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to stay the 10-year jail sentence imposed on expelled BJP politician Kuldeep Singh Sengar over the custodial death of the Unnao rape victim’s father.

Sengar requested that his sentence be suspended pending his appeal, saying he had already served nearly six years of it and that the prosecution’s charges were based entirely on circumstantial evidence.

However, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said that once an accused is found guilty, the presumption of innocence is gone. His application for suspension of sentence has to be considered on the basis of a prima facie assessment of his role, the gravity of the offence etc. and the time he has spent in jail is only one of those factors, Justice Sharma said. The court observed that while deciding on suspension of sentence, factors like nature of crime, criminal history of the convict, impact on public confidence and threat to victims have to be considered.