The Supreme Court on Friday set aside an order of the Delhi High Court suspending the life sentence of former BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case and asked it to decide the petition afresh.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalia Bagchi also asked the apex court to make efforts to decide Sengar’s main plea against his conviction and life imprisonment in the case within two months.
It also said that if it was not possible for the Supreme Court to decide the main petition expeditiously, it should issue an order on Sinjar’s petition seeking suspension of the life imprisonment in the case before the summer vacation there begins.
The bench, which had earlier quashed the SC order granting bail to Sengar after huge public uproar over the issue, said it had not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case and the apex court could take it forward afresh.
The CJI also asked the HC to decide new issues like whether the MLA can be treated as a public servant for prosecution under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had postponed to the first week of May the hearing on the petition filed by the CBI challenging the suspension of the life imprisonment sentence of the former paralegal in the rape case.
On December 29 last year, the Supreme Court stayed the Delhi High Court’s order suspending Sengar’s life imprisonment and said he would not be released from custody.
The Delhi High Court in its order dated December 23, 2025, said Sengar was convicted under Section 5(c) (penetrative sexual assault by a public servant) of the POCSO Act but the elected representative does not fit the definition of “public servant” under Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.
The Supreme Court had stayed the prison sentence of Sengar, who was serving a life sentence in the Unnao rape case, until the end of the appeal period, saying that he had already spent seven years and five months in prison.
The Supreme Court’s decision sparked criticism from various segments of society, and protests were organized by the victim, her family, and activists.
