The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) escalated the Unnao rape case to the Supreme Court on December 16 by filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the Delhi High Court’s order suspending expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s life imprisonment. Convicted in December 2019 for raping a minor in 2017, Sengar was sentenced to life and fined ₹25 lakh. He appealed in January 2020 and sought sentence suspension in March 2022, opposed fiercely by CBI and the victim.
A Delhi HC bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar suspended the sentence on December 23, noting Sengar had served about 7 years and 5 months by November 30, 2025, exceeding the pre-2019 POCSO Act Section 4 minimum of 7 years. The court raised a pivotal question: whether Sengar, an MLA at the time, qualified as a “public servant” under POCSO Section 5(c) or IPC Section 376(2)(b), which mandate harsher minima of 20 years to life. Without that status, penalties align with lighter provisions.
CBI argues the HC erred, as trial court evidence, including the survivor’s “unblemished, truthful, and sterling” testimony, conclusively proved Sengar’s guilt. Despite the suspension, Sengar remains jailed on a separate 10-year murder conviction linked to the case. The SLP highlights procedural lapses and statutory interpretation, potentially redefining accountability for public figures in sexual offense cases.
