CBI moves Calcutta HC seeking death penalty for RG Kar case convict

A division bench, presided by Justice Debangsu Basak, said it will hear the CBI's appeal on January 27, along with a prayer by West Bengal government seeking admission of its appeal with similar plea

The CBI on Friday filed an appeal before the Calcutta High Court, seeking death penalty for RG Kar hospital rape-murder case convict Sanjay Roy.

A division bench, presided by Justice Debangsu Basak, said it will hear the CBI's appeal on January 27, along with a prayer by the West Bengal government seeking admission of its appeal with a similar plea.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) moved the bench, also comprising Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi, praying for hearing of its appeal on the claim of inadequacy of sentence given by a trial court to Roy.

Representing the CBI, Deputy Solicitor General Rajdeep Majumdar said the central agency, which investigated the case, has the right to challenge the lower court order before the high court on the ground of inadequacy of sentence.

The Sealdah court on January 20 had sentenced Roy to life imprisonment till the end of his natural life for the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024.

The division bench had on Wednesday said it would hear the CBI, the victim's family and the convict through their lawyers before deciding on the admission of the appeal filed by the state government.

The CBI had opposed the state's right to file an appeal in the case, claiming that it was the prosecuting agency and had the right to prefer the appeal on the grounds of inadequacy of sentence.

Seeking capital punishment for Roy, the state's Advocate General Kishore Dutta had stated before the court that the life sentence to the convict till death was inadequate.