Calcutta HC to hear CBI, victim’s family, & convict on West Bengal govt's appeal seeking death penalty

synopsis

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has decided to hear the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the victim's family, and the convict Sanjay Roy before allowing the West Bengal government's appeal. The appeal challenges the sentence handed down by the trial court in the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case. The court has scheduled the hearing for Monday.

The West Bengal government, led by Mamata Banerjee, is seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, who was convicted of raping and murdering a medic at RG Kar hospital. However, the sessions court in Kolkata sentenced him to life imprisonment, citing that the case did not fall under the "rarest of rare" category, which is required for the death penalty.

The CBI has contested the state's authority to file an appeal, arguing that it alone has the right to challenge the sentence as the prosecuting agency. Advocate General Kishore Dutta moved the division bench in the case, and the court granted permission to proceed with the matter.

Mamata Banerjee has been vocal about demanding capital punishment for Roy, stating that society cannot remain humane if individuals act with such barbarity and cruelty. She also mentioned that the state government had passed the Aparajita Bill, but the Centre has yet to act on it.