February 7, 2025: The Calcutta High Court on Friday rejected the West Bengal government's petition challenging the life imprisonment awarded to RG Kar rape-murder convict Sanjay Roy but accepted a similar plea from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Both the CBI and the Bengal government had sought the death penalty for Roy.
A division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Sabbar Rashidi ruled that only the investigating agency—CBI in this case—could challenge the sentence on grounds of inadequacy. The court stated that since the CBI led the probe, its appeal would be heard.
Sanjay Roy, a former civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, was convicted of raping and murdering a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last year. A CBI court had sentenced him to life imprisonment till death last month. However, both the state government and the CBI challenged the verdict, arguing that the crime merited capital punishment.
The state government defended its right to appeal, contending that the initial FIR was registered by Kolkata Police, making it a matter of state jurisdiction. "Law and order is under the state's purview," the Advocate General argued in court. The CBI countered, asserting that only the prosecuting agency could challenge the quantum of punishment.
The lower court had declined to impose the death penalty, stating that the case did not fall under the "rarest of the rare" category.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee strongly criticized the verdict, reiterating her demand for capital punishment. "I have been seeking the death sentence from day one. If the case had remained with us, we would have ensured the death penalty. The CBI intentionally took the case away from us. Such criminals deserve to be hanged," she said.
The case had sparked widespread outrage and protests from the medical community, with healthcare professionals demanding stricter punishment. The Calcutta High Court will now proceed with hearing the CBI's plea, determining whether the sentence should be escalated to the death penalty.