The Delhi High Court has granted conditional relief to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar by suspending the life sentence he received in the 2017 Unnao rape case. Sengar has been granted bail while his appeal against the conviction is pending. He has been released on a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of the same amount.
The court has imposed certain conditions on Sengar, including staying away from the victim’s residence within a five-kilometre radius and remaining in Delhi during the bail period. Any violation of these conditions will result in the cancellation of bail. Sengar is also required to report to the local police station weekly, refrain from threatening or influencing the survivor or her mother, and surrender his passport to the trial court.
Despite being granted bail in the rape case, Sengar will not be released from jail immediately as he is currently serving a separate 10-year sentence related to the death of the survivor’s father in 2018. The court has scheduled Sengar’s criminal appeal and related application to be heard before an appropriate roster Bench on January 15, 2026, subject to the Chief Justice’s orders.
Sengar was convicted in December 2019 for raping a minor girl and was sentenced to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 25 lakh. The survivor, who was a minor at the time of the incident, was allegedly kidnapped and raped by Sengar in June 2017. The trial commenced in August 2019 after the Supreme Court transferred all related cases from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi, with directions for a speedy trial to be completed within 45 days.
