TNI Bureau: The Supreme Court today stayed the Delhi High Court’s order that had suspended the sentence and granted bail to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case. The top court said the matter involves important questions of law and requires detailed consideration.
A three-judge Special Vacation Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.G. Masih, stayed the High Court’s December 23, 2025 order. The Bench clarified that Sengar will not be released based on the High Court decision while his appeal against conviction is pending.
The Supreme Court issued notice to Sengar on a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and asked him to file his response within four weeks. Notice was also issued on a separate petition filed by advocates Anjale Patel and Pooja Shilpkar challenging the High Court’s order.
The CBI approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court suspended Sengar’s life sentence in the rape case, a move that triggered protests by the survivor and activists. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, urged the court to stay the order.
The High Court had ruled that certain aggravated offence provisions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code were not applicable in Sengar’s case. It also held that Sengar could not be treated as a “public servant” under the relevant legal provisions. Based on this reasoning, the court suspended his sentence, noting that he had already spent over seven years in jail.
Sengar, however, continues to remain in prison as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in the custodial death case of the rape survivor’s father. He has not been granted bail in that case.
The High Court had imposed several conditions while granting bail, including a personal bond of ₹15 lakh with three sureties, restrictions on entering a 5-km radius of the survivor’s residence in Delhi, and a strict warning against threatening the survivor or her family.
The Unnao rape case and related matters were transferred from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi in August 2019 on the orders of the Supreme Court. Appeals filed by Sengar in both the rape case and the custodial death case are currently pending.
