Supreme Court on Friday set aside the Delhi High Court order suspending the life sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case and directed the high court to hear the case afresh.A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked the high court to try to decide within two months Sengar’s appeal against his conviction and life imprisonment, PTI reported.The bench said if the high court is unable to decide the main appeal expeditiously, it should pass an order on the petition seeking suspension of Sengar’s sentence before the commencement of summer vacation.The Supreme Court clarified that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case and said that the High Court was free to consider the matter afresh.The CJI also asked the high court to reconsider the issues of whether an MLA can be treated as a public servant for prosecution under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.On December 29 last year, the apex court had banned Delhi High Court Ordered suspension of Sengar’s sentence and directed that he shall not be released from custody.Earlier, the Supreme Court had postponed the hearing on CBI’s petition challenging the suspension of Sengar’s life sentence to the first week of May.In its order dated December 23, 2025, the Delhi High Court had said that Sengar was convicted under Section 5(c) of the POCSO Act, which deals with aggravated sexual harassment by a public servant, but observed that an elected representative does not fall within the definition of “public servant” under Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.The High Court had suspended Sengar’s jail sentence pending his appeal, noting that he had already spent seven years and five months in jail.The order was criticized by various sections of the society, while the victim, her family and activists also protested against the relief given to Sengar.