Delhi High Court rejects Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s plea for sentence suspension in Unnao Custodial Death Case
Sengar has also been sentenced to life imprisonment for the sexual assault of a minor girl in Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh, in 2017.
High Court had recently suspended his sentence in the rape case, however, few days later, the Supreme Court had stayed the order.
The Delhi High Court has rejected Kuldeep Singh Sengar's plea seeking suspension of his sentence in the custodial death case of Unnao rape victim's father.
Sengar was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison by a trial court in a custodial death case of the father of the Unnao rape case victim. Justice Ravinder Dudeja has dismissed the plea, noting Sengar's criminal antecedents.
Earlier, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), had objected to Sengar’s plea seeking suspension in the custodial death case of the Unnao rape victim's father, a relief he sought on medical grounds.
Kuldeep Singh Senger had previously been sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2022 for the rape of a minor girl in 2017.
On 3 April 2018, when the family of the minor rape victim travelled to Unnao for a court hearing, during which her father, Surendra, was brutally assaulted in broad daylight by the accused. The following day, police arrested Surendra on allegations of illegal possession of arms. While in custody, he succumbed on 9 April 2018 to multiple injuries sustained during the assault.
Recently, Supreme Court’s bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had also stayed the Delhi High Court order that had suspended the life sentence of former Uttar Pradesh MLA Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case.
Solicitor General Mehta described the matter as a “horrific case of rape of a child”, emphasizing that Sengar had been convicted under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 5 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Supreme Court had subsequently stayed the Delhi High Court’s December 23, 2025 order, which had suspended Sengar’s life imprisonment, directing that he shall not be released pursuant to the High Court’s order.
Sengar was convicted in December 2019 by a trial court for raping a minor girl and for committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the POCSO Act. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, with the trial court observing that there were no mitigating circumstances. It underscored that Sengar, as a public servant in a democratic setup, had betrayed public trust, noting that “a single act of depravity” was sufficient to do so. The case relates to allegations that the minor survivor was kidnapped and raped by Sengar between June 11 and 20, 2017, and later sold for ₹60,000. She was subsequently recovered at the Maakhi police station in Uttar Pradesh.
A Division Bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar ruled that Sengar could not be categorised as a “public servant” under Section 5(c) of the POCSO Act or Section 376(2)(b) of the IPC. A Special Leave Petition has also been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the High Court's decision suspending the life sentence of former MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is serving life imprisonment in the Unnao rape case.
Advocate Hitendra Gandhi had also written to the Chief Justice of the High Court on the administrative side, seeking urgent listing of the appeal arising from the 2017 Unnao rape case after the High Court suspended the life sentence of Sengar during the pendency of his appeal.
Case Title: Kuldeep Singh Sengar vs. Central Bureau of Investigation
Bench: Justice Ravinder Dudeja
Order Date: January 19, 2026