Unnao Custodial Death Case: Delhi HC Seeks Response From Convicts, CBI On Plea For Harsher Punishment

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to all convicts, including former Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, as well as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in proceedings arising out of the Unnao custodial death case.

The development came after the Unnao rape survivor moved an application seeking enhancement of the sentence awarded to those convicted in the custodial death of her father. Sengar is currently serving a 10-year sentence in the custodial death case and a life sentence in the rape case involving a minor. His appeals in both matters are pending before the Delhi High Court.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja issued notices to all respondents and listed the matter for hearing on March 2. Except for Sengar, all other convicts in the custodial death case are presently on bail.

Advocate Mehmood Pracha appeared on behalf of the survivor, pressing for enhancement of sentence. He urged the Court to consider the gravity of the offence and the circumstances surrounding the custodial death. On behalf of the CBI, advocate Anubha Bhardwaj submitted that the Court should first examine the maintainability of the survivor’s petition before proceeding further.

The matter has seen procedural developments over the past week. Earlier, a separate Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Manju Jain had taken up a plea filed by the deceased’s daughter seeking early hearing of the case.

Observing that the matter involved overlapping issues pending before different Benches, that Bench referred it to the Chief Justice for appropriate directions on listing and consolidation.

The Court noted that, pursuant to directions of the Supreme Court of India, the matters were required to be decided on priority and, ideally, within a period of three months. However, since various connected appeals and applications are pending before different Benches of the High Court, the timeline may be difficult to adhere to unless the cases are heard together.

The custodial death case traces back to allegations that the survivor’s father was assaulted while in police custody in Unnao following his detention in connection with a cross-complaint. He later succumbed to his injuries, leading to prosecution and conviction of multiple accused, including Sengar.

In December 2025, the Delhi High Court had suspended Sengar’s sentence in the custodial death case. However, the Supreme Court subsequently stayed that order, effectively restoring the sentence pending further adjudication.

Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court rejected Sengar's plea for suspension of sentence. The Top Court meanwhile directed the High Court to decide the bail plea within 3-months.

The survivor’s present application for enhancement adds another layer to the ongoing litigation, which has already seen extensive proceedings at multiple judicial levels. The High Court will now consider both the issue of maintainability and the substantive prayer for enhancement of sentence at the next hearing.

With notices issued to all concerned parties, the matter is set to proceed before the Division Bench on March 2, even as parallel appeals in the rape and custodial death cases continue to await final adjudication.

Sengar was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of his life on Dec 20, 2019 for kidnapping and raping the survivor in 2017, when she was a minor.

Source: ANI