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SC stays Delhi HC order suspending Kuldeep Sengar’s life sentence in Unnao rape case

The Supreme Court issued notice on the CBI’s plea challenging the Delhi High Court judgment and gave Kuldeep Sengar four weeks’ time to file a counter affidavit.

3 min readUpdated: Dec 29, 2025 03:57 PM IST

Despite the relief earlier, Sengar had to remain in jail because he was concurrently serving a 10-year jail sentence after being convicted of culpable homicide

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the December 23 Delhi High Court order suspending the life sentence awarded to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case.

A three-judge bench presided by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said that if it were to accept the high court’s interpretation that Sengar does not fall within the definition of a public servant, then it would mean that a police constable would be a public servant, but an MLA is not.

“We are only worried that a constable or a patwari, they will be public servant for the purpose of committing this offence, but a Member of Parliament or elected member of state Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council, if this interpretation is construed to be correct, they will be exempted.”

The bench, also comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and A G Masih, issued notice on the plea by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the high court judgment.

Also Read | Kuldeep Sengar’s brief relief ends as SC stays Delhi HC’s bail order in 2017 Unnao rape case: All you need to know

“Issue notice…We find that there are various substantial questions of law which arise for consideration in this SLP (Special Leave Petition). We are conscious of the fact that ordinarily, when a convict/undertrial has been released on bail pursuant to an order passed by the trial court or High Court, such order should not be stayed by this court without hearing such person,” the bench stated.

“However, there are peculiar facts and circumstances. The respondent is also separately convicted and sentenced in a case under section 304 Part 2 IPC (Indian Penal Code) and we are informed that he is in custody in that case…,” it said.

“In the peculiar circumstances of the case, we stay the operation of impugned order dated December 23, 2025 passed by the High Court. Consequently, the respondent shall not be released from custody pursuant to the impugned order,” the bench ordered.

The court gave Sengar four weeks’ time to file a counter-affidavit. It further said that the victim has a statutory right to file a separate SLP in the matter.

Ananthakrishnan G

Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More