Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has dismissed a plea filed by the West Bengal government seeking death penalty for Sanjay Roy, the convict in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder case. However, the court has accepted an appeal by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the verdict of the trial court to sentence Roy to life imprisonment.
The division bench of Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi had reserved its order on whether to accept the appeals from the state government and CBI. Both the CBI and the state government had filed petition in the high court demanding death penalty for Roy.
Notably, on January 20, Sealdah Court Judge Anirban Das had sentenced Roy to life imprisonment on charges of the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024. Roy, a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was the sole accused mentioned in the chargesheet. While ordering life imprisonment for Roy, the judge has stated that it was not the rarest of rare crimes.
After this, state government had filed an application in the high court, challenging the Sealdah Court's verdict and demanded the penalty for Roy. Later, the CBI also filed the same application.