The Calcutta High Court on Monday reserved its order on the admission of two appeals filed separately by the West Bengal government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), challenging the trial court’s sentencing of RG Kar hospital rape-murder convict Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment till death. Both the state government and the CBI have sought capital punishment for the convict.  

A division bench, presided over by Justice Debangsu Basak, heard arguments from both parties, who contended that the Sealdah sessions court’s January 20 order sentencing Roy, the sole convict, to life imprisonment till death was inadequate, news agency PTI reported.  

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RG Kar Case: CBI Questions West Bengal Govt’s Right To Appeal

The CBI argued before the bench that, as the investigating and prosecuting agency, only it had the right to move an appeal before the high court on the grounds of an inadequate sentence. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the CBI, stated that the agency had registered an FIR in the case after the high court handed it over. He further informed the bench, also comprising Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi, that Kolkata Police had transferred all case-related documents to the CBI on the high court’s order.  

Raju detailed the case timeline, stating that the chargesheet was filed before the trial court on October 7, charges against Roy were framed on November 4, and he was convicted on January 18. The sentence was pronounced on January 20.  

He argued that the West Bengal government had no role in the investigation or trial and had not submitted any application before the sessions court to participate. He contended that the state’s sudden interest in appealing the quantum of the sentence at this stage was unwarranted and legally inadmissible, as per PTI.  

However, Advocate General Kishore Dutta, representing the West Bengal government, asserted that the state had the authority to challenge an inadequate sentence even if the prosecution was conducted by a central agency. The court then questioned why the state does not intervene in cases handled by agencies like the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) or the Railway Protection Force (RPF) if it believes sentences in such cases to be inadequate, PTI reported.  

The victim’s parents and the convict were represented before the court by their respective lawyers, who stated they had no submissions to make regarding the admission of the appeals.  

Roy was sentenced to life imprisonment till the end of his natural life by the Sealdah sessions court for the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024. The high court had earlier directed the CBI to investigate the case.  

The court will issue its ruling on the admission of the appeals in due course.