Supreme Court quashes HC order suspending Kuldeep Sengar life term in Unnao case

The Supreme Court on Friday set aside a Delhi High Court order suspending the life sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case and asked it to decide the plea afresh. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also asked the high court to make endeavours to decide the main plea of Sengar against his conviction and life imprisonment in the case within two months. It further said that if it was not possible for the high court to decide the main plea expeditiously, then it should pass an order on a plea of Sengar seeking the suspension of the life term in the case before the start of the summer vacation there. The bench, which had earlier set aside the HC order granting bail to Sengar after a huge public uproar over the issue, said that it did not express any opinion on the merits of the case and the high court could proceed with it afresh. The CJI also asked the HC to decide afresh issues like whether an MLA can be treated as a public servant for being prosecuted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Earlier, the top court had deferred to the first week of May the hearing on a petition filed by the CBI challenging the suspension of life imprisonment of the former MLA in the rape case.

On December 29 last year, the top court stayed the Delhi High Court order suspending Sengar's life sentence and said he shall not be released from custody. In its order dated December 23, 2025, the Delhi High Court had said that Sengar had been convicted under Section 5 (C) (aggravated penetrative sexual assault by a public servant) of the POCSO Act but an elected representative does not fit the definition of a "public servant" under Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code. The high court had suspended the jail term of Sengar, who was serving life imprisonment in the Unnao rape case, till the pendency of his appeal, saying he had already served seven years and five months in prison. The high court order has sparked criticism from various sections of society and protests were held by the victim, her family and activists.