Unnao Rape Case: Supreme Court Stays Delhi High Court Order Granting Bail To Convict Kuldeep Sengar

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the operation of a Delhi High Court order that had suspended the jail term of Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case, directing that he shall not be released from prison.

The top court noted that Sengar is already lodged in jail in connection with another case and ordered a stay on the High Court’s decision granting him bail. The stay ensures that Sengar will continue to remain in custody.

The intervention came days after the Delhi High Court, on Dec. 24, suspended Sengar’s sentence pending appeal and granted him bail, subject to conditions. The High Court had stayed the sentence awarded to Sengar while hearing his appeal against the December 2019 trial court verdict that convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment for rape.

A bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar had directed Sengar to furnish a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of the same amount. It also ordered that the sureties must be residents of Delhi.

The High Court had barred Sengar from entering a 5-km radius of the survivor’s residence in Delhi and restrained him from threatening her or her mother. It had said any violation of the conditions would result in cancellation of bail.

The court had further directed Sengar to stay in Delhi during the pendency of his appeal, deposit his passport with the trial court and report to the local police station every Monday at 10 a.m. It had also said he must remain available to serve the remaining sentence if required.

The High Court had listed Sengar’s appeal before the roster bench on Jan. 16, 2026, subject to orders of the chief justice.

The case relates to the kidnapping and rape of a minor in 2017. The Supreme Court had transferred the rape case and other related cases from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi on Aug. 1, 2019.

Sengar also faces a separate case relating to the custodial death of the survivor’s father, in which he was sentenced to 10 years in jail. His appeal in that case is pending, along with a plea seeking suspension of sentence on the ground that he has already spent a substantial period in custody.

Speaking to PTI after the High Court order, the survivor had said she was not satisfied with the decision. She cited concerns for the safety of her children and family members and questioned the withdrawal of security provided to her family, legal aides and witnesses during the trial.

She had also raised questions over the timing of the verdict and said the grant of bail after several years in prison in a case involving rape and the death of her father raised concerns about justice.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)