Kuldeep Sengar's Appeal In Unnao Victim's Father's Death Case Be Heard Out Of Turn : Supreme Court To Delhi High Court

The Supreme Court today requested the Delhi High Court to afford "out-of-turn" hearing to former Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar's appeal challenging his conviction and 10-year sentence in the case related to the custodial death of Unnao rape victim's father. The Court observed that the appeal be decided within three months. 

The Court also directed that the appeal filed by the victim seeking enhancement of sentence be also heard along with Sengar's appeal. The appeals by co-accused also have to be heard alongwith these matters.

A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice NV Anjaria was hearing the petition filed by Sengar challenging the Delhi High Court's order passed on January 19 refusing to suspend his sentence in the death case.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave for Sengar submitted that he has already served 7 years and 7 months of actual sentence out of the ten-year sentence. Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, for the CBI, informed that the main appeal against the conviction is listed for hearing on February 11, 2026. He suggested that the appeal can be directed to be heard expeditiously on an "out of turn basis".

Advocate Mahmood Pracha, for the victim, submitted that they have filed an appeal to convert the conviction from Section 304 IPC to Section 302 and thereby to enhance the sentence to life imprisonment.

Dave argued that in cases of term sentence, suspension of the sentence during the pendency of the appeal is the norm. However, the bench pointed out that Sengar is serving life sentence in the other case related to the rape of the Unnao girl.

"If you are serving life sentence in another offence, is that not a relevant consideration for suspension of sentence?" Justice Bagchi asked.

During the hearing, CJI also expressed disapproval of Advcoate Pracha giving media statements about the case. "We are also aware of the media trial going on in this case, which we don't approve of it. You have no business to go to media if you are engaging as counsel in this...as CJI, I can't tolerate all these things," CJI told Pracha.

To recap, in April 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 persons in broad daylight. The very next day, the police arrested the father on allegations of being in illegal possession of arms and he ultimately succumbed to multiple injuries suffered by him in police custody.

In August 2019, trials of five cases in the matter, including the case concerning victim's father's death, were transferred from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi, by the Supreme Court. Sengar was found to be guilty of rape in December 2019 and sentenced to life. He was also convicted for conspiring the death of the victim's father on March 04, 2020 and in June 2024, the Delhi High Court rejected his plea for suspension of sentence in the case.

In January this year, the High Court rejected his second plea for suspension of sentence, noting his criminal antecedents and that there was no new subsequent development in the case. The Court said that it was conscious about Sengar's long incarceration of about 7.5 years in the case and his appeal could not be heard due to delay on multiple grounds, like his filing multiple applications seeking suspension of sentence, etc.

Accordingly, the High Court ordered that the appeal has to be heard on merits in an expeditious manner.

In related news, a division bench of the High Court recently suspended Sengar's sentence in the rape case. However, few days later, the suspension was stayed by the Supreme Court.

Case Title: KULDEEP SINGH SENGAR Versus CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, SLP(Crl) No. 2204/2026

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