The West Bengal government’s appeal seeking the death penalty against Sanjay Roy, who was convicted of raping and murder of a 31-year-old on-duty trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, was Friday rejected by the Calcutta High Court. However, the court accepted the plea that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also filed, challenging the lower court’s sentencing.
However, the CBI’s appeal against the judgment of the trial court was accepted by the bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashid and the state government’s plea was turned down. On January 20 earlier, additional district and sessions judge Anirban Das sentenced Roy to life imprisonment, saying that the case did not fall under the ‘rarest of rare’ category, which means he could have been punished by capital punishment.
Confusion Over Two Appeals for the Death Penalty
Separately, the CBI and the West Bengal government sought that Roy be awarded the death penalty. The court also questioned why the same appeal was being towed by two different authorities.
CBI said that it had done the entire investigation and hence, only the central government had the right to carry out the appeal against the judgment of the trial court. According to the state government’s counsel, however, the state was also competent to challenge the verdict even in the cases involving the central agencies.
Parents of the Victim Demand the Strictest Punishment
Kolkata Police first arrested Sanjay Roy, and then, as the Calcutta High Court ordered on August 13, 2024, the RG Kar case was transferred to the CBI.
In her comments for the victim’s parents, lawyer Gargi Goswami said: “They are not just demanding death penalty for the sake of retribution. They were keen for all those involved in the crime to be rounded up and punished as severely as possible.”
Many people are still crying out for harsher punishment.
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