The Delhi High Court has directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi to constitute a medical board to determine whether Jaideep Singh Sengar, the convict in the Unnao rape victim’s father’s death case, is suffering from cancer or any other life-threatening illness.
A bench of Justices Naveen Chawla and Ravinder Dodja on Tuesday said that Sengar will be taken to AIIMS on Thursday for medical evaluation. The court asked the medical committee to determine whether it was possible to provide him with appropriate treatment inside the prison or through accompanied visits to government hospitals.
“…It is necessary for an independent medical assessment to be conducted by a duly constituted medical committee to ascertain the present health condition of the applicant. Accordingly, a direction is issued that the Director, AIIMS, New Delhi, shall constitute a medical committee to examine the present medical condition of the applicant,” the court said, fixing March 2 as the date for the next hearing.
The court issued the order after Sinjar requested a temporary suspension of the sentence for medical reasons.
Sengar’s lawyer, Pramod Dubey, reported that his client suffers from severe and life-threatening medical conditions, including stage 4 oral cancer with suspected recurrence.
He added that Sengar underwent surgery for oral cancer at AIIMS in 2020 and has been under treatment since then. Dube said Sinjar requires specialized care and appropriate medical attention, which cannot be adequately provided within the prison system.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) lawyer Anubha Bhardwaj opposed the petition and recorded a detailed verification report dated February 20.
The CBI told the court that many prescriptions and medical documents provided by Sinjar were found to be fake or fabricated. One of the prescriptions was for a different patient, she said. The CBI acknowledged that some of the previous treatment records appeared to be genuine. She said that there are no reliable materials proving that Sinjar suffers from stage four cancer.
Mahmoud Barasha, the victim’s lawyer, objected to the request, arguing that the medical documents had not been properly verified. He claimed that Sinjar had previously abused the freedom granted to him.
Sengar appealed the Delhi court’s March 2020 ruling, which convicted him, his brother and policemen Ashok Singh Bhadauria and KP Singh on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy, unlawful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt under the Arms Act. They were sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Sengar was convicted for his role in the group that assaulted the victim’s father in 2018, when the former went with his co-workers in Unnao to attend a rape case hearing. The father was arrested by police for allegedly possessing illegal weapons, and he later died from multiple injuries sustained while in police custody.
On February 21, Jaideep Sengar surrendered on the directions of the Supreme Court. The court noted that Sinjar initially obtained temporary bail in July 2024 for two months, and it was extended twice the last time.
