CBI Moves High Court Seeking Death Penalty To RG Kar Rape-Murder Accused Sanjay Roy
Roy, a former civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Sealdah court in Kolkata on Monday
The CBI on Wednesday filed an application in the Calcutta High Court challenging the life sentence of Sanjay Roy, the accused in the RG Kar rape-murder case.
This comes after reports that the central investigation agency plans to appeal for the death sentence for Roy.
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Roy, a former civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Sealdah court in Kolkata on Monday. He was convicted for the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August of last year.
The appeal filed by the CBI against the Sealdah court’s ruling includes detailed arguments in favour of capital punishment.
Earlier today, a CBI official stated that the agency had received legal advice suggesting that the case could be classified as “rarest of the rare," warranting the death penalty.
The agency’s request for the death penalty was rejected by the trial court. Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das ruled that the crime did not meet the criteria for the “rarest of the rare" category.
“The CBI prayed for the death penalty. The defence lawyer prayed that a jail term be given instead of the death penalty. This crime does not fall under the ‘rarest of the rare’ category," the judge had said when delivering the sentence on Monday.
“I am sentencing you to life imprisonment, meaning till the last day of your life, for causing injury during the act of committing rape on the victim that led to her death…," Judge Das told Roy.
The West Bengal government has also approached the high court, challenging the verdict and seeking the death penalty for Roy.
The CBI has contested the state’s right to file an appeal in the case, asserting that, as the prosecuting agency, it holds the right to appeal on the grounds of sentence inadequacy.
Representing the CBI, Deputy Solicitor General Rajdeep Majumdar opposed the state’s submission, arguing that the West Bengal government does not have the right to appeal against the trial court’s decision on the basis of sentence inadequacy.
The high court stated it would hear the CBI, the victim’s family, and the convict before deciding whether to admit the state government’s appeal. The court has scheduled a hearing for January 27.
(With inputs from PTI)
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