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The Supreme Court has set aside a Delhi High Court order that had suspended the life sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case involving a minor survivor.

A bench led by Justice Joymalya Bagchi criticised the reasoning adopted by the high court, particularly its conclusion that an MLA could not be treated as a public servant under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

“We do not endorse the hyper-technical conclusion of the high court that an MLA is not a public servant under POCSO,” Justice Bagchi observed while delivering the ruling.

The apex court, however, clarified that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the main criminal appeal and directed the Delhi High Court to decide the matter within two months.

High Court Bail Order Had Sparked Massive Controversy

The Unnao rape case had returned to national attention last month after another bench of the Delhi High Court suspended Sengar’s sentence and granted him conditional bail pending appeal.

At the time, the high court held that Sengar’s status as an MLA did not justify treating him as a “public servant” for the purpose of enhanced punishment provisions under POCSO.

The bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan had also observed that provisions of the anti-child sexual offences law could not be invoked in the manner adopted by the trial court.

After ruling that Sengar could not be considered a public servant under the law, the court noted that he had already spent around seven-and-a-half years in jail, which it described as “more than minimum number” prescribed under relevant provisions.

The order paved the way for Sengar’s release on conditional bail.

Bail Conditions Included Restrictions on Survivor Contact

As part of the bail conditions imposed earlier, Sengar was asked to furnish a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh.

He was also barred from leaving Delhi and prohibited from coming within five kilometres of the survivor.

Despite those restrictions, the decision triggered widespread criticism from political leaders, women’s rights activists and legal observers, many of whom questioned the interpretation adopted by the high court.

The controversy deepened further after dramatic scenes unfolded in Delhi involving the survivor’s family during protests against Sengar’s release.