Today, Delhi High Court denied bail to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in connection with the case arising from the custodial death of the Unnao rape survivor’s father.

The bench headed by Justice Ravinder Dudeja observed that Sengar has spent nearly seven-and-a-half years in custody out of the total 10-year sentence and there has been a delay in hearing his appeal against conviction, the delay was attributable in part to Sengar himself, as he had filed multiple applications.

Case Brief:

The Unnao rape survivor’s father was arrested on the alleged directions of Kuldeep Singh Sengar and later died in police custody on April 9, 2018, following custodial violence.

Later, in March 2020, a Delhi court convicted Sengar and others in the case and sentenced them to 10 years in prison. In June 2024, the Delhi High Court had turned down a similar plea by Sengar. The Court had then said that given the seriousness of the offence, the nature of the crime, Sengar’s criminal background, and the impact such cases have on public faith in the justice system, he did not deserve suspension of his sentence.

The survivor, who was a minor at the time, was allegedly kidnapped and raped by Sengar between June 11 and June 20, 2017. She was later sold for ₹60,000. After this, police officials allegedly threatened and pressured her to remain silent, acting on Sengar’s instructions.

The case became even more controversial when a truck without a number plate hit the car in which the survivor was travelling. While the survivor and her lawyer were seriously injured and two family members were died on the spot.

In August 2019, the Supreme Court transferred the trial in four related cases to Delhi and directed that the hearings be conducted on a day-to-day basis and completed within 45 days.

In December 2019, Sengar was convicted for raping the minor survivor and for the custodial death of her father. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the rape case and to 10 years’ jail in the custodial death case.

Recently, the Delhi High Court granted Sengar bail in the rape case, but the Supreme Court stayed that order after the CBI challenged it.

Senior Advocate Manish Vashisht, along with advocates Aishwarya Sengar, Vedansh Vashisht, Swapan Singhal, Kanhaiya Singhal, Avantika Shankar and Shatakshi Singh, appeared for Sengar. The CBI was represented by Special Public Prosecutor Anubha Bhardwaj and advocate Ananya Shamshery, while advocates Mehmood Parcha, Kshitij Singh and Kumail Abbas appeared for the survivor.