Ex-SC Judge Markandey Katju Backs Delhi HC Bail Order for Kuldeep Sengar
Katju justifies Sengar's release on technical grounds amid outrage.
Former Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju has publicly supported the Delhi High Court's interim order granting bail and suspending the life sentence of Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the expelled BJP leader convicted in the 2017 Unnao rape case involving a minor. Katju stressed that Sengar has already endured more than eight years in custody, arguing that prolonged incarceration pending final appeals raises profound questions of justice if convictions are eventually set aside.
Central to Katju's defence is the legal interpretation of "public servant" under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He explained that while the trial court classified an MLA as a public servant—triggering the enhanced punishment of life imprisonment—the High Court correctly noted that the POCSO Act borrows its definition from the Indian Penal Code, which lists specific categories but excludes elected legislators.
The former judge emphasised that the High Court's decision is not a final acquittal but an interim measure focused solely on this definitional issue, without re-examining evidence of guilt, the victim's age, or other merits. He cautioned against overlooking technical precision in law, asserting that misapplication of enhanced penalties could lead to irreversible miscarriages of justice in India's notoriously delayed judicial system.
Also Read: Supreme Court to Hear CBI Plea Against Kuldeep Sengar Life Sentence Suspension
Sengar, convicted in December 2019 for kidnapping and raping the minor, received life imprisonment alongside a substantial fine. Despite the recent bail in this matter, he continues to serve a separate 10-year rigorous sentence for criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the custodial death of the survivor's father, ensuring his ongoing detention.
The bail order has provoked intense public backlash, with the survivor's family decrying it as a betrayal that undermines faith in the justice system and conveys impunity for crimes against women. A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih, is actively hearing the Central Bureau of Investigation's urgent challenge to the High Court's December 23 decision on December 29, 2025.
Also Read: Protests Erupt Outside Delhi High Court Over Bail to Unnao Rape Convict Kuldeep Sengar
