The Supreme Court on Friday, 15 May set aside the Delhi High Court order that had suspended the life sentence of expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case. The ruling reinstates Sengar's incarceration after the apex court had already stayed the High Court's bail order in December 2024.

What the Supreme Court Ordered

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi partly allowed the special leave petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the Delhi High Court's conditional bail grant to Sengar. The Bench set aside the High Court order and directed it to decide Sengar's criminal appeal 'as expeditiously as possible, preferably within three months.'

The apex court further clarified that if the High Court finds it unlikely to conclude the appeal early, it 'may pass a fresh order on the prayer for suspension of sentence after hearing all parties, including counsel for the complainant.' The Bench explicitly stated it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the matter at this stage.

The POCSO 'Public Servant' Dispute

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, argued that the Delhi High Court had adopted an erroneously narrow interpretation in assessing whether a Member of the Legislative Assembly qualifies as a 'public servant' under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He contended that a legislator occupies a dominant position and cannot be excluded from the aggravated penetrative sexual assault provisions of POCSO on technical grounds alone.

Justice Bagchi orally remarked that the Supreme Court was 'not endorsing the hyper-technical approach taken by the High Court,' signalling the Bench's discomfort with the lower court's reasoning.

Sengar's Defence Arguments

Senior advocate N. Hariharan, representing Sengar, contended that material existed to show the survivor was not a minor at the time of the incident, raising a challenge to the applicability of the POCSO Act itself. Hariharan also noted that Sengar had already spent more than 10 years in custody and that the question of an MLA's status as a public servant warranted separate consideration.

Background and Prior Convictions

In December 2019, a Delhi trial court convicted Sengar of kidnapping and raping a minor girl and sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life, along with a fine of ₹25 lakh. The Supreme Court had previously transferred all cases related to the Unnao incident from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi and ordered day-to-day trials.

Separately, in March 2020, a Delhi court convicted Sengar for conspiring in the custodial death of the rape survivor's father, sentencing him to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment. In February 2025, the Supreme Court declined to interfere with the Delhi High Court's refusal to suspend that sentence.

The Delhi High Court had suspended Sengar's life sentence in December 2024 and granted conditional bail pending his appeal against conviction. The Supreme Court had immediately stayed that order, ensuring Sengar remained in custody. Friday's ruling now formally sets aside the High Court's bail grant, with the appeal expected to be heard on a fast-tracked basis.