GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 22nd Jan. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, the convict in the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case. Roy was previously sentenced to life imprisonment by a lower court, which the CBI now argues is inadequate for the gravity of the crime.
During a hearing, the CBI contended that only it or the Union government is authorized to appeal the inadequacy of the sentence in this case, dismissing West Bengal’s petition for the death penalty as “not maintainable.”
The case has reignited tensions between the Mamata Banerjee-led state government and the central probe agency. The horrific crime, which sparked widespread protests and a standoff between the Trinamool government and doctors in Kolkata, has remained a sensitive issue in the state.
Expressing frustration over the court’s decision, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “When someone is a demon… can society be human? If someone commits such a heinous crime and is let off, they will repeat it. Our job is not to protect them.”
The trial court, while acknowledging the heinous nature of the crime, emphasized the principles of reformative justice in its sentencing. Justice Anirban Das stated that the evidence presented by the CBI did not establish the case as one of the “rarest of rare,” which would justify the death penalty.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the case. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan, is set to resume hearings today.
In a previous hearing in November 2024, the Supreme Court, under then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, refused a request to transfer the trial outside West Bengal, asserting that the judicial process must continue within the state.
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