Unnao rape case: Survivor moves HC to record addl evidence in Kuldeep Sengar appeal

The survivor of the Unnao rape case on Thursday approached the Delhi High Court seeking permission to lead additional evidence in the criminal appeal filed by former Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment.The application was taken up by a Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Madhu Jain, which noted that Sengar’s appeal against his conviction and sentence, filed in 2020, was at the final stage of hearing. The Bench listed the survivor’s plea for consideration on February 25.

Through her counsel, Advocate Mehmood Pracha, the survivor urged the court to permit the recording of further evidence and production of additional documents, including her date of birth as reflected in school records. The plea seeks to place these materials on record in the pending appeal challenging the trial court’s findings.

On perusing the application, the High Court observed that no supporting documents had been annexed. It directed the survivor to file relevant documents by January 31, and granted two weeks’ time to Sengar and the CBI to file their replies to the application. Senior Advocate N Hariharan appeared on behalf of Sengar.

The development comes against the backdrop of a Coordinate Bench’s order dated December 23, 2025, by which Sengar’s sentence had been suspended and he was granted bail. That order, however, was stayed by the Supreme Court on December 29, 2025.

While suspending the sentence, the High Court had held that at a prima facie stage, the offence under Section 5(c) of the POCSO Act was not made out. It had observed that the allegations did not qualify as aggravated penetrative sexual assault under Section 5 of the Act and ruled that Sengar could not be treated as a “public servant” for the purposes of Section 5(c) of the POCSO Act or Section 376(2)(b) of the Indian Penal Code. The trial court had earlier relied on that classification to convict him for aggravated penetrative sexual assault.

Sengar was convicted by a special CBI court in 2019 for the rape of a minor girl in Unnao district and sentenced to life imprisonment. The case had triggered nationwide scrutiny, with the survivor and her family alleging prolonged harassment and intimidation. On the directions of the Supreme Court, the CBI had also investigated several connected cases, including those relating to attacks on members of the survivor’s family.

Separately, Sengar is serving a 10-year sentence imposed in 2020 in a case regarding the culpable homicide of the survivor’s father.