Sengar’s appeal in Unnao father’s death case to get expedited hearing: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday instructed the Delhi High Court to grant an out-of-turn hearing to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar , who is challenging his conviction in the custodial death of the Unnao rape survivor’s father . The top court said the case should be resolved within three months .

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria said that any appeal filed by the victim’s family should also be heard along with Sengar’s petition.

Sengar’s plea contests the January 19 Delhi High Court order that declined to suspend his 10-year prison term. During the hearing, CJI Kant expressed disapproval over statements made by the victim’s counsel in the media, warning against a parallel trial outside the courtroom.

Sengar’s appeal is scheduled for hearing in the Delhi High Court on February 11 .

On March 13, 2020 , a trial court sentenced Sengar to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10 lakh, describing the father’s death as the loss of the family’s sole breadwinner. The father had died in police custody on April 9, 2018, after being arrested on Sengar’s orders under the Arms Act. Sengar had kidnapped and raped a minor in 2017.

While the court did not convict Sengar for murder under the Indian Penal Code, it held him guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 IPC), noting that there was no intention to kill.

Sengar’s appeals in the main rape case, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2019, and in the case involving the father’s death, remain pending in the high court. The HC had temporarily suspended Sengar’s sentence in the rape case on December 23, 2025 , but the Supreme Court stayed the suspension on December 29 .