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Delhi HC rejects Unnao rape survivor plea to submit additional evidence about age
The Delhi High Court on April 22, 2026 dismissed the survivor’s plea to introduce school-record evidence to establish her age. The court ruled the case should be decided on evidence already on record, after noting that the school had not required birth documents at admission and that its principal had already testified.
Why It Matters
The ruling clarifies that age-determination evidence may not be added at the appeal stage, affecting how this case determines the survivor’s age and potentially the legal proceedings tied to it.
Timeline
2 Events
April 22, 2026: Delhi High Court rejects plea to submit additional age evidence
April 22, 2026
In an appeal against the trial court’s December 2019 order, the survivor sought permission to further examine two Uttar Pradesh school witnesses to prove her age—principal Arun Kumar Singh and assistant Virender Singh. The court noted a school letter stating that no documents, including a birth certificate, were submitted at admission since such documents were not required under prevailing practice. It also noted that the school principal appeared and the admission register was produced, and held there was no need to call for additional evidence at this stage, ordering that the matter be heard on the basis of evidence already on record.
December 2019: Trial court convicts Kuldeep Singh Sengar of rape of a minor and sentences him to life imprisonment
December 2019
The trial court convicted Kuldeep Singh Sengar for raping a girl who was a minor in Unnao and sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his life.