The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the plea of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar seeking suspension of his 10-year sentence in the case related to the custodial death of the Unnao rape survivor’s father.
Justice Ravinder Dudeja observed that no case was made out for relief and rejected the application seeking suspension of sentence. “No grounds are made out for grant of relief. The application seeking suspension of sentence is dismissed,” the court said.
Though the court noted that Sengar had undergone considerable incarceration, it held that the delay in hearing of his appeal was partly due to the multiple applications filed by him. “Purpose would be served if the appeal is heard expeditiously,” Justice Dudeja added, while listing the main appeal for hearing on February 3, 2026.
On March 13, 2020, a trial court sentenced Sengar to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of ₹10 lakh for his role in the death in custody of the survivor’s father. The man had been arrested under the Arms Act on Sengar’s behest and died on April 9, 2018, due to custodial brutality.
The trial court had concluded that although there was no intention to kill, the death amounted to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and convicted the accused under Section 304 IPC. Along with Sengar, his brother Atul Singh Sengar and five others were also awarded 10-year jail terms.
The court had firmly stated that “no leniency” could be shown in such a case where the “sole bread earner” of a family was killed in custody.
Sengar was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment till the end of his natural life in a separate case of raping the minor survivor in 2017. His appeal in that case is also pending before the Delhi High Court.
While the High Court had temporarily suspended his sentence in the rape case on December 23, 2025, the Supreme Court stayed that suspension order within a week, on December 29, 2025.
