Today, in a major development in the 2017 Unnao rape case, the Supreme Court set aside the suspension of sentence granted to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar by the Delhi High Court, effectively sending him back to jail while his appeal against conviction remains pending. The development gains importance as the Apex Court openly questioned the High Court’s approach in interpreting serious POCSO charges in matters involving individuals wielding political power and public influence.
The controversy stemmed from the Delhi High Court’s December 2025 order suspending Sengar’s life sentence during the pendency of his appeal in the rape case involving a minor girl. The prosecution agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, challenged the relief before the Apex Court, arguing that the High Court had adopted an unduly narrow interpretation while assessing charges of aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the POCSO Act.
The case relates to allegations that the survivor, then aged 17, was kidnapped and raped in 2017 before allegedly being sold and later subjected to intimidation. Sengar was eventually convicted by a Delhi Trial Court in 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment after the Top Court had transferred the trial from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi for expeditious proceedings.
The Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi expressed strong disagreement with the Delhi High Court’s prima facie observation that Sengar may not fall within the category of a “public servant” or person in a position of authority for the purposes of aggravated sexual assault under the POCSO Act.
Justice Bagchi remarked, “We do not endorse the hyper-technical conclusion of the High Court. This is a penal legislation which protects children from sexual exploitation.” The Bench also noted the submission of the Solicitor General that “MLA is in a dominant position.” While clarifying that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of Sengar’s pending appeal, the Top Court restored his sentence, directed the High Court to make an endeavour to decide the criminal appeal within two months, and permitted reconsideration of a fresh plea for suspension of sentence if the appeal is unlikely to be heard within that period.
Source PTI
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