Calcutta HC to Rule Today on Bengal Govt's Death Penalty Plea for Convict
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Synopsis
Kolkata's Calcutta High Court will announce its decision on the West Bengal government's petition for the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, the convicted individual in the R.G. Kar rape and murder case, on Friday morning. This follows a previous life sentence imposed by a special court.
Key Takeaways
- The Calcutta High Court will deliver a verdict on a crucial death penalty petition.
- Sanjay Roy is the sole convict in the R.G. Kar case.
- The CBI opposes the state’s plea for death penalty.
- The special court previously sentenced Roy to life imprisonment.
- The case raises important legal questions about the right to appeal.
Kolkata, Feb 7 (NationPress) A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court is set to announce its decision regarding the admissibility of a petition submitted by the West Bengal government seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, the only convict in the R.G. Kar rape and murder case, on Friday morning.
Both the West Bengal government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have approached the Division Bench comprising Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi to request the death penalty for Roy.
However, the CBI has contested the state’s petition, arguing that their officials have been conducting the investigation based on a prior order from the Calcutta High Court.
Therefore, according to the CBI, only the central agency and the victim's parents should have the right to file the petition, as the state government was not a party to the case.
The hearings regarding the admissibility of both the CBI's and the state government's petitions concluded on January 27, but the Division Bench reserved its judgment, which will be announced on Friday morning.
The state government’s lawyer argued that in this specific case, the government could appeal under Section 377 (which permits state appeals if a sentence is deemed inadequate) and Section 378 (pertaining to appeals against acquittals for cognizable and non-bailable offenses) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC).
Last month, a special court in Kolkata sentenced Roy to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a female junior doctor affiliated with R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in August of the previous year.
The judge from the special court noted that the crime did not meet the criteria to be classified as the “rarest of rare”, which led to Roy's life sentence instead of the death penalty.
Subsequently, both the West Bengal government and the CBI appealed to the same Division Bench, contesting the special court's ruling and pursuing a death penalty for Roy.
Simultaneously, the CBI also challenged the admissibility of the state government’s petition.
To recap, the victim's body was discovered in a seminar hall within the R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital premises on the morning of August 9 last year, prompting an initial investigation by the Kolkata Police, which led to Roy's arrest.
Later, the CBI assumed responsibility for the investigation following an order from the Calcutta High Court.
