Former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Monday denied bail to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the case related to the custodial death of father of Unnao rape survivor. Justice Ravinder Dudeja pronounced the order, rejecting Sengar’s plea seeking suspension of sentence.

Sengar has been in custody since April 13, 2018, and is serving a 10-year jail term in the custodial death case, apart from a life sentence in the minor rape case.The present bail plea relates specifically to the custodial death conviction.Earlier, on December 23, 2025, Sengar was granted bail in the minor rape case, but the order was stayed by the Supreme Court of India on December 29.The trial court had said “no leniency” could be shown for killing a family’s “sole bread earner”.It had also awarded a 10-year jail term to Sengar’s brother, Atul Singh Sengar, and five others for their role in the custodial killing of the rape survivor’s father.Arguments by the victim’s sideAdvocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing for the rape survivor, opposed any relief, arguing that Sengar’s release would pose a threat to the victim and her family. It was submitted that the survivor continues to face harassment and defamation on social media, and that the gravity of the offence and its aftermath rule out bail.Arguments by Sengar’s counselSenior advocate Manish Vasisth, along with advocate Kanhaiya Singhal, contended that Sengar has already spent nearly nine years in custody in this case, with only about 11 months of the sentence remaining. The defence argued that Sengar was not present at the spot on April 3, 2018, when the assault on the victim’s father took place.It was further submitted that the trial court relied on call detail evidence involving Sengar’s secretary, Santosh Mishra, who allegedly spoke to him on the phone that day but was not examined as a witness. The defence also pointed to alleged contradictions in witness statements, questioning their credibility.Sengar’s counsel highlighted that during a brief interim suspension of sentence granted earlier for his daughter’s marriage, he did not misuse the liberty.Case backgroundThe cases arise from FIRs registered in 2018 at Makhi police station in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, and were tried by the District and Sessions Judge (West) at Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi.According to the prosecution, the minor survivor was lured on the pretext of a job on June 4, 2017, and raped at Sengar’s residence. On April 3, 2018, when the survivor’s family travelled to Unnao for a court hearing, her father was allegedly assaulted in public. He was arrested the next day on arms possession charges and died in police custody on April 9, 2018, due to multiple injuries.