Delhi HC directs medical board formation for Sengar’s medical evaluation

THe young new delhi heights margaret court has directed New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to form a medical board to determine whether Jaideep Singh Sengar, convicted in the custodial death case of the Unnao rape victim’s father, is suffering from cancer or any other life-threatening disease.A bench of justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja on Tuesday said that Sengar be taken to AIIMS on Thursday for a medical evaluation. The court asked the medical board to determine if adequate treatment can be provided to him within the jail or through escorted visits to government hospitals.“...an independent medical assessment by a duly constituted Medical Board is necessary to ascertain the current health condition of the applicant. Accordingly, it is directed that the Director, AIIMS, New Delhi, shall constitute a Medical Board to examine the current medical condition of the applicant,” the court said, fixing March 2 as the next date of hearing.The court passed the order after Sengar sought an interim suspension of the sentence on medical grounds.Sengar counsel, Pramod Dubey, submitted that his client is suffering from severe and life-threatening medical conditions, including Stage IV oral cancer with a suspected recurrence.He added that Sengar had undergone surgery for oral cancer at AIIMS in 2020 and remained under treatment since. Dubey argued that Sengar requires specialised care and proper medical attention, which cannot be adequately provided within the prison system.Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s lawyer, Anubha Bhardwaj, opposed the plea and placed on record a detailed verification report dated February 20.The CBI told the court that several prescriptions and medical documents Sengar submitted were found to be fake or fabricated. It said one of the prescriptions pertained to a different patient. The CBI acknowledged that certain past treatment records appeared to be genuine. It said that there was no reliable material to establish that Sengar is suffering from Stage IV cancer.Mehmood Pracha, the victim’s counsel, opposed the application, arguing that the medical documents had not been duly verified. He alleged that Sengar had previously misused the liberty granted to him.Sengar has appealed against a Delhi court’s March 2020 order, convicting him, his brother, and policemen Ashok Singh Bhadauria and KP Singh for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy, wrongful restraint , voluntarily causing hurt and under the Arms Act. They were awarded 10-year sentences.Sengar was convicted for his role in the group that assaulted the victim’s father in 2018, when the former had gone with his co-workers in Unnao to attend a hearing in the rape case. The police arrested the father for allegedly possessing illegal arms, and he later succumbed to multiple injuries suffered in police custody.On February 21, Jaideep Sengar surrendered on the high court’s direction. The court noted that Sengar had initially been granted interim bail in July 2024 for two months, which was last extended twice.