On Monday, 29 December 2025, a three-judge vacation bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Surya Kant, Justice JK Maheshwari, and Justice Augustine George Masih, stayed the Delhi High Court’s 23 December order suspending Sengar’s life sentence and granting him conditional bail in the 2017 Unnao rape case.
The court issued notice on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) special leave petition filed on 26 December, directing Sengar to file a counter-affidavit within four weeks, while emphasising that he should not be released due to “peculiar facts” involving his separate 10-year jail term for the custodial death of the victim’s father.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, described the incident as a “horrific case of rape of a child” and urged the stay “for the sake of the child who was the victim,” noting Sengar’s convictions under IPC Section 376 and POCSO Act Sections 5 and 6, with the survivor confirmed as 15 years and 10 months old at the time.
The Delhi High Court had justified its order citing over seven years served, good behaviour, and conditions like a Rs 15 lakh personal bond, no contact with the survivor or witnesses, and avoidance of her Delhi residence; the survivor herself voiced faith in the top court while fearing for her family’s safety.
Judicial Rationale and Official Statements
The Supreme Court’s bench departed from its usual reluctance to interfere with bail orders post-grant, invoking exceptional circumstances tied to Sengar’s concurrent imprisonment for the 2018 custodial death case, where he received a 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence.
Justice Surya Kant explicitly stated: “Thus, the respondent (Sengar) shall not be released pursuant to the said order,” underscoring the gravity of the matters at hand. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta passionately argued that as a former sitting MLA, Sengar breached public trust, warranting heightened scrutiny under POCSO provisions, and countered claims that he did not qualify as a “public servant” under Section 5(c).
He stressed the survivor’s vulnerability, pointing to the trial court’s findings of a minor’s brutal assault and the broader pattern of intimidation that followed. Meanwhile, the survivor’s recent plea highlighted ongoing threats, stating her children felt unsafe at home, adding a poignant human layer to the CBI’s push for justice.
Chronology of the Unnao Rape Ordeal
The saga traces back to June 2017 in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, when Sengar, a prominent BJP MLA at the time, allegedly lured a 17-year-old girl (later determined to be a minor) to his residence under false pretences and raped her, an act that exposed deep flaws in local policing and political influence.
Initial FIR delays led to the victim’s desperate self-immolation attempt on 8 August 2018 outside then-Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s Lucknow residence, sparking national outrage and prompting the case’s transfer to the CBI.
Tragically, her father died on 9 August 2018 in judicial custody after alleged beatings by Sengar’s aides and brother, leading to murder charges. Further horror unfolded on 26 July 2019 when a truck deliberately rammed the victim’s vehicle, killing her two aunts and critically injuring her and her lawyer classified by CBI as a murder bid. In December 2019, a Delhi trial court convicted Sengar of rape, endangering life, and other charges, imposing a life sentence plus Rs 25 lakh fine; five aides received 10-year terms for the father’s death.
The Supreme Court had earlier shifted the trial to Delhi for impartiality, monitored investigations, and restricted media reporting to protect the minor survivor. Sengar appealed in 2020 and sought sentence suspension in 2022, culminating in the now-stayed High Court relief.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
In a society striving for harmony and coexistence, justice systems must unequivocally side with child survivors of sexual violence, rejecting any leniency that risks re-traumatising victims or signalling impunity to perpetrators in positions of power.
This Supreme Court stay reaffirms empathy and accountability, reminding us that procedural technicalities cannot eclipse the lifelong scars borne by the Unnao survivor and her family amid years of threats and loss it calls for kindness through robust safeguards, dialogue on victim protections, and reforms to expedite sensitive trials, paving the way for positive change.
