Bengaluru, Dec. 26 -- Delhi High Court's decision to suspend the life sentence of expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case has triggered legal and public debate, not just because of the seeming injustice of it all, but because it relies on a technical question of statutory interpretation: is a legislator a "public servant" under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. At the heart of the controversy lies the court's prima facie finding that Sengar, despite being an elected MLA at the time of the offence, does not fall within the category of "public servant" under Section 5(c) of Pocso or Section 376(2)(b) of IPC, which provides for life term. The HC bench said while legislators may be treated as public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act, that definition cannot be automatically imported into Pocso. It ordered Sengar's release pending his appeal, noting that he has already undergone about 7 years and 5 months of imprisonment. The period, it said, exceeded the minimum punishment of 7 years a person can be given under Section 4 of Pocso, prior to the 2019 amendment which enhanced the minimum to 10 years. If the accused is not a "public servant", the offence falls under Sec 4 of Pocso, which prescribes a minimum of 7 years rigorous imprisonment (10 yrs after the 2019 amendment), extendable to life, instead of the minimum 20 years. P4...