The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the bail plea of former Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is convicted in the custodial death case of the Unnao rape victim’s father. The top court has asked the Delhi High Court to give an “out-of-turn” hearing and conclude the matter within three months.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice N V Anjaria heard a petition filed by Sengar challenging the Delhi High Court’s January 19 order refusing to suspend his 10-year sentence in the case.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Sengar, submitted that the former MLA has already served 7 years and 7 months of actual imprisonment out of the 10-year sentence.
Following this, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, informed the court that the main appeal against Sengar’s conviction is listed for hearing on February 11. He also suggested that the appeal can be taken up expeditiously on an “out-of-turn basis”.
A trial court had sentenced Sengar to 10 years in prison. The Delhi High Court, on January 18, declined to grant him bail, prompting Sengar to challenge that decision before the Supreme Court.
Earlier, in the rape case involving a minor, the Supreme Court had stayed the bail granted to Sengar by the High Court. On January 19 this year, the Delhi High Court also dismissed his plea seeking suspension of the 10-year sentence in the Unnao custodial-death matter. Sengar had been granted bail in the minor rape case on December 23, 2025, but the Supreme Court stayed that order on December 29.
Sengar has remained in custody since April 13, 2018. He is currently serving a 10-year jail term in the custodial-death case of the Unnao rape victim’s father. He is also serving a life sentence in the minor’s rape case.
Both matters stem from FIRs registered in 2018 at Makhi police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district and were adjudicated by the District and Sessions Judge (West) at Delhi’s Tis Hazari Courts.
According to the case background, on June 4, 2017, the minor daughter of the victim was allegedly lured on the pretext of being offered a job and taken to Sengar’s residence, where she was raped.
The High Court noted that on April 3, 2018, the family of the minor rape victim had travelled to Unnao for a court hearing when her father was brutally assaulted by the accused in broad daylight. The following day, police arrested him on allegations of illegal possession of arms. He later succumbed to multiple injuries while in police custody on April 9, 2018.
