RG Kar case: Calcutta High Court to decide if State plea for Sanjay Roy death penalty is maintainable

The Calcutta High Court is set to decide on January 27 the maintainability of the appeal filed by the State of West Bengal seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, convicted for the rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital..The matter will be heard by a Bench of Justices Debangshu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi.When the matter was heard today, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which investigated the matter and conducted the prosecution before the trial court, intervened and opposed the appeal moved by the State.The issue put before the Court was that only the agency which prosecuted the case can file an appeal in the matter.The State rebutted by arguing that it was the Kolkata police which had registered the first information report (FIR) in the matter and arrested the accused, before the High Court intervened and transferred the probe to the CBI.The Court eventually posted the matter for January 27 to decide on the maintainability.The Court also allowed the advocate representing Roy to meet him and obtain a vakalatnama..Additional district and sessions judge Anirban Das had sentenced Roy to life imprisonment on Monday.The trial judge had refused to impose the death penalty, stating that the crime could not be classified as "rarest of rare", which is the test to impose capital punishment..The State government had mentioned the matter on January 21 and stated that it was moving an appeal to seek the death penalty for Roy.Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee too had announced the decision to appeal against the sentencing order..The case concerns the rape and murder of a 31-year-old resident doctor, who was found dead at the State-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9, 2024.The doctor was found dead at a seminar hall of the college and an autopsy confirmed that she was raped and murdered.The incident sparked nationwide outrage and doctor protests across the country demanding stricter laws and policing to ensure the safety of medical professionals.Roy, a civic volunteer with the city police, was arrested by the Kolkata Police on August 10, 2024 a day after the incident..The investigation into the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the Calcutta High Court.The trial court in West Bengal framed criminal charges for rape and murder against Roy. The trial started on November 12, 2024 and concluded on January 9, with the CBI seeking the death penalty for Roy.The trial court convicted Roy on January 18 after an in-camera trial that lasted 57 days."The CCTV footages, the version of the accused during his examination u/s 351 BNSS, the contradictory defence pleas without any evidence, the DNA examination reports points the arrows towards this accused only behind the incident of rape and murder of the victim and the involvement of any other person behind the said incident can easily be ruled out," the judge held.The Court also criticised both the Kolkata Police and the RG Kar Hospital for various lapses on their part in handling the case, but added that these lapses were not fatal to the prosecution's case."I think that the illegal/indifferent/lackadaisical acts on the part of the police authority of Tala PS as well as the administrative wing of R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital will not stand as a stumbling block on the way of trial of this case," it said.However, it refused to impose the death penalty. It said that courts must rise above primitive considerations like "an eye for an eye" when it comes to imposing punishment. Courts have a duty to ensure that justice is based on evidence and not just public sentiments, it said.