NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday set aside the Delhi High Court order suspending the life sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case and directed the high court to hear the matter afresh.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked the high court to make efforts to decide Sengar’s appeal against his conviction and life imprisonment within two months, reported PTI.The bench said that if the high court was unable to decide the main appeal expeditiously, it should pass an order on Sengar’s plea seeking suspension of his sentence before the start of the summer vacation.The Supreme Court clarified that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case and said the high court was free to consider the matter afresh.The CJI also asked the high court to reconsider issues including whether an MLA can be treated as a public servant for prosecution under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.On December 29 last year, the top court had stayed the Delhi High Court order suspending Sengar’s sentence and directed that he would not be released from custody.Earlier, the Supreme Court had deferred to the first week of May the hearing on a petition filed by the CBI challenging the suspension of Sengar’s life sentence.In its order dated December 23, 2025, the Delhi High Court had said that Sengar was convicted under Section 5(C) of the POCSO Act, which deals with aggravated penetrative sexual assault by a public servant, but observed that an elected representative does not fall within the definition of a “public servant” under Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.The high court had suspended Sengar’s jail term during the pendency of his appeal, noting that he had already spent seven years and five months in prison.The order had triggered criticism from various sections of society, while the victim, her family and activists also held protests against the relief granted to Sengar.
