RG Kar rape, murder case: HC rejects Bengal govt’s appeal for death penalty

Sanjay Roy was on January 20 sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a 31-year-old on-duty trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital

The Calcutta high court on Friday rejected the West Bengal government’s appeal seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, who was convicted for the rape and murder of a 31-year-old on-duty trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, even as it admitted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) plea for the same.

Sanjay Roy, the rape convict, after his sentencing. (ANI)

A bench of justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashid admitted the CBI plea against the lower court sentencing of Roy.

Additional district and sessions judge Anirban Das on January 20 sentenced Roy to life imprisonment, underlining the case was not “rarest of the rare” to warrant the death sentence.

The state government and the CBI separately moved the high court seeking the death penalty. The high court questioned why two authorities approached the court with the same appeal.

The CBI argued it carried out the entire probe and hence only the central government was authorised to sanction an appeal against the trial court’s order.

The state’s counsel submitted the central government could appeal against orders in cases involving central agencies. He added the state government was also empowered to maintain an appeal in such cases.

The Kolkata Police arrested Roy before the case was handed over to the CBI on the high court’s orders on August 13 last year.

The lawyer of the trainee’s parents told the court they do not want capital punishment just because they have lost their daughter. “They want all those involved in the crime to be brought to justice. They want the most stringent punishment,” said Gargi Goswami, the lawyer.