The Supreme Court on Friday (May 14, 2026) set aside a Delhi High Court order granting bail and suspending the sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the High Court to decide the question of suspension of sentence of Sengar afresh, preferably before the onset of the summer vacation of the courts in June.
Delhi High Court seeks Sengar’s stand on rape survivor’s plea for death penalty
The court had initially ordered that the High Court would finally hear and decide Sengar’s appeal against his conviction as early as possible or within two months, and if that was not possible, then consider the plea for suspension of sentence.
However, top court altered the order on a submission made by senior advocate N. Hariharan that the court ought to consider the plea for suspension of sentence first and foremost. Mr. Hariharan voiced scepticism about getting an early decision on the appeal, saying he had already argued it “five times” without hardly any progress made.
