Unnao Rape Case: Supreme Court Sets Aside Order Suspending Kuldeep Singh Sengar's Life Sentence

The Supreme Court today set aside the Delhi High Court's order that had suspended the life sentence of former Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case.

A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, without expressing any opinion on merits of suspension of sentence, allowed the CBI"s appeal in part and set aside the impugned order.

"We direct the High Court to decide the appeal finally preferably in two months. In case the High Court decides that the appeal may not be decided early, it can pass an order regarding suspension of sentence," the bench ordered further.

The bench had taken up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s appeal challenging the bail granted to accused Kuldeep Singh Sengar. At the outset, Justice Bagchi noted, "POCSO is not only a penal legislation, it is a legislation which protects children..We do not endorse the hyper technical conclusion of the High Court that an MLA is not a public servant under POCSO".

In December last year, during a special hearing the Supreme Court had stayed the Delhi High Court order after hearing detailed submissions from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Senior Advocates Siddharth Dave and N. Hariharan, who represented Sengar.

Solicitor General Mehta had 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. “There is no doubt that he is convicted for rape,” Mehta had told the Bench, adding that under the amended law, the punishment for such offences is now a minimum of 20 years, extendable to life imprisonment.

He had also stated that the appeal against Sengar’s conviction was still pending before the Delhi High Court, and argued that suspending his sentence during this pendency undermined the gravity of the offence. CJI Surya Kant queried whether the concept of a “public servant” under the POCSO Act was relevant when the victim was a minor.

The CBI's appeal assailed the High Court’s December 23, 2025 order granting Sengar suspension of sentence under Section 389(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure during the pendency of his criminal appeal against conviction.

Delhi High Court's 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 was 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. 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.

Case Title: CBI Vs Kuldeep Singh Sengar and another matter

Bench: CJI Surya Kant, Justice Bagchi

Hearing Date: May 15, 2026