After the West Bengal government moved the Calcutta High Court challenging a local court’s verdict sentencing Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment in the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also filed an appeal before the court to seek death penalty for the convict.
The CBI, probing into the case, moved the High Court after receiving a legal advice suggesting that it may be categorised as the “rarest of rare” case, deserving capital punishment.
The Additional District and Sessions Court, Sealdah, on Monday sentenced Roy to life imprisonment until death after he was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering an on-duty junior doctor at the State-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Roy, who was working as a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police at the hospital, was convicted of rape and murder of the 31-year-old woman doctor by the Additional District and Sessions Court, after more than five months after his arrest on August 10, 2024.
Declaring the quantum of punishment for Roy, Additional District and Sessions Judge in Sealdah, Anirban Das said that the crime did not fall under the “rarest of the rare” category, which justified the decision to not impose the death penalty on the convict.
The CBI prayed for the death penalty for Roy, while the lawyer representing him prayed for a jail term instead of the death penalty.
“You will be in prison till the last day of your life,” said judge Anirban Das while reading the order.
Death penalty
The West Bengal government approached the High Court on Tuesday to challenge the Sealdah court’s verdict. The Mamata Banerjee-led government has demanded the death penalty.
The CBI, however, has opposed the State Government’s right to file an appeal in the case, claiming that as it was the prosecuting agency, it had the right to appeal on the grounds of inadequacy of the sentence.
Appearing for the CBI, Deputy Solicitor General Rajdeep Majumdar on Wednesday opposed the State’s submission, maintaining that the State Government did not have the right to appeal against the trial court’s order in this case on the ground of inadequacy.
Majumdar submitted before the High Court that the CBI had prayed for awarding capital punishment to Roy before the trial court.
The High Court said it will hear the CBI, the victim’s family and the convict before deciding on the admission of the State Government’s appeal. The court said it will hear the matter on January 27.