Plea before Supreme Court challenges decision granting bail to Kuldeep Singh Sengar in Unnao rape case

A Special Leave Petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court's decision from December 23, 2025, suspended the life sentence of former MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is serving life imprisonment in the Unnao rape case.

The petition filed by advocates Anjale Patel and Pooja Shilpkar through Advocate-on-Record Sanjeev Malhotra seeks cancellation of bail granted to Kuldeep Senger in relation to Unnao rape case.

The plea questions whether the High Court was justified in entertaining and allowing the application for suspension of sentence and grant of bail particularly when the Trial Court, after appreciating the entire evidence on record, had not only awarded life imprisonment but had also directed that the accused shall undergo incarceration for the remainder of his natural life, thereby reflecting the gravity and heinous nature of the offence.

It further questions if the High Court erred in granting relief without adequately appreciating the findings and observations of the Trial Court, ignoring the seriousness of the offence, and solely relying upon the period of custody of approximately 7 years and 5 months, in the absence of any settled principles of criminal jurisprudence or binding precedents warranting such suspension of sentence.

"High Court has gravely erred in law and on facts in misinterpreting the statutory definition of “public servant” as contemplated under Section 2(c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and other relevant penal provisions, while considering the bail application of the accused-respondent, who, undisputedly, was a sitting Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) at the time of commission of the alleged heinous offence," the plea argues.

Supreme Court has been told that Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies perform sovereign public duties, exercise statutory powers, draw public emoluments from the State exchequer, and are entrusted with public functions of highest accountability; hence, they squarely fall within the ambit of “public servant” for the purposes of criminal liability, particularly under the Prevention of Corruption Act and allied laws. "However, the Hon’ble High Court, without appreciating the settled legal position enunciated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in a catena of judgments recognizing MPs and MLAs as “public servants”, proceeded to exclude the accused from such statutory classification, thereby extending him an unwarranted benefit of bail. The reasoning assigned by the Hon’ble High Court is not only contrary to the express legislative mandate but is also perverse, self contradictory, and incapable of being understood on any sound principles of criminal jurisprudence. Such erroneous interpretation strikes at the root of the administration of criminal justice and undermines the statutory objective of curbing corruption and criminal misconduct by persons holding public office," the plea further states.

A division bench of the High Court comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar while suspending the sentence, has directed Sengar’s release on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh along with three sureties of the same amount.

High Court has directed Sengar not to enter within a five-kilometre radius of the victim’s residence and not to threaten or contact the victim or her mother in any manner. “We are suspending the sentence. The appellant shall furnish a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of the like amount. He shall not come within a five kilometre radius of the residence of the victim,” the division bench recorded in its order.

Sengar has assailed the December 2019 trial court verdict by which he was held guilty. Kuldeep Singh Sengar was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2022 for the rape of a minor girl in 2017. Separately, Sengar’s plea seeking suspension of sentence in the custodial death case of the Unnao rape victim’s father is pending before the High Court. In that matter, he has sought suspension of sentence on the ground that he has already undergone a substantial period of incarceration. Notably, a trial court had convicted Sengar and sentenced him to ten years’ imprisonment in the custodial death case.

Previously, the High Court had considered Kuldeep Singh Senger’s application for interim bail. His legal counsel highlighted delays in his release despite a temporary suspension of his sentence. In December last year, a bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Amit Sharma granted interim bail to Sengar after directing the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to submit a comprehensive report on his medical condition to determine whether his treatment could be effectively managed within the jail premises.

Case Title: Anjale Patel & Anr . vs. Central Bureau of Investigation & ANR.