RG Kar rape-murder case: Calcutta HC allows CBI plea, dismisses state’s appeal challenging life term to convict Sanjoy Roy

The CBI and the West Bengal government had filed appeals in the Calcutta High Court seeking the death penalty for RG Kar rape-murder case convict Sanjoy Roy.

Sanjay Roy, the prime suspect in the RG Kar rape and murder case

On Friday, the Calcutta High Court accepted the CBI's appeal contesting the life imprisonment sentence given to Sanjoy Roy for the rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, while rejecting the West Bengal Government's plea on the issue.

Both the CBI and the West Bengal government had appealed to the high court, seeking the death penalty for Roy.

"...we believe that since the Central Bureau of Investigation, a central agency, conducted the investigation under an order from this court, the Central Government is the proper authority to direct the filing of an appeal against an inadequate sentence," stated the division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Arindam Mukherjee.

"Considering the words 'Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (2)' at the start of Section 418 of BNSS, the State Government cannot issue such directions as long as the Central Government or the CBI is willing to do so. Therefore, the appeal filed by the State of West Bengal...cannot be admitted and entertained. Consequently, the appeal filed by the CBI...is admitted," the court declared.

"The investigation was conducted by the CBI. The CBI's appeal is admitted while the state's appeal is dismissed," Justice Debangsu Basak stated on Friday.

On January 20, Roy was sentenced to life imprisonment until death by a Sealdah court. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had expressed her dissatisfaction with the verdict, stating that the government would pursue the death penalty for the convict. The next day, the state government approached the Calcutta High Court.

The CBI approached the high court on January 24, opposing the West Bengal government's plea, arguing that only the victim's family, the investigating agency, or the convict could appeal to a higher court. The state government had contended that the incident occurred at a state hospital and that law and order is a state matter.

Roy, a 35-year-old civic volunteer, was convicted under sections 64 (punishment for rape), 66 (punishment for causing death or a persistent vegetative state to a woman), and 101 (1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in a verdict delivered five months after the August 9 incident, which caused outrage and led to protests across the state.

Previously, the central agency's request for the death penalty for Roy was denied by a trial court, where the judge determined that the crime did not meet the "rarest of the rare" criteria.

What are your views on this news? Comment below!!