NEW DELHI: Kuldeep Singh Sengar, former UP MLA convicted of raping a minor lady in Unnao in 2017, didn’t come underneath the definition of a public servant underneath the Pocso Act, Delhi high court held in its Dec 23 order suspending his sentence.In a curious transfer, excessive court docket has determined the applicability of a stringent Pocso Act part that carries a minimal jail time period of 20 years, which might be prolonged as much as life, whereas listening to Sengar’s plea for suspension of sentence, whilst his attraction towards the trial court docket ruling stays pending.A bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish V Shankar faulted the trial court docket for treating Kuldeep Sengar as a public servant and handing him jail for the “the rest of life”, for the offence of “aggravated penetrative sexual assault” underneath part 5 of the Pocso Act.The bench concluded that the cost of “aggravated penetrative sexual assault” underneath the part was not relevant within the case of Sengar. Part 5 of the Pocso Act defines “penetrative sexual assault” towards a minor as “aggravated penetrative sexual assault”, if dedicated by individuals holding positions of authority – together with a public servant or police officer inside their jurisdiction, members of the armed or safety forces, or employees of hospitals or prisons.excessive court docket famous that Pocso Act didn’t outline a public servant and that the trial court docket wrongly relied upon Prevention of Corruption Act to borrow the definition.“In view of particular inclusion of IPC, CrPC, JJ Act and IT Act in Part 2 of the Pocso Act, this court docket can not take support of the definition of ‘public servant’ from some other Act apart from IPC, CrPC, JJ Act, and IT Act. Notably, CrPC, JJ Act, and IT Act don’t present for the definition of a public servant,” excessive court docket noticed, mentioning that MLA just isn’t recognised as a public servant underneath any of those statutes. It held that “identical reasoning applies for his conviction underneath part 376(2)(b) of IPC”.Counsel for the survivor, opposing the suspension of sentence, argued that even when Sengar doesn’t underneath come underneath definition of a ‘public servant’ inside purview of Part 5(c) of the Pocso Act, he can nonetheless be sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of his life.The bench, nevertheless, famous that because it was prima facie glad that “that offence underneath Part 5 of Pocso Act just isn’t attracted in current case”, survivor’s rivalry “that the investigation was compromised can’t be a floor to not droop the sentence of the appellant, extra so wanting on the interval of incarceration already undergone”.