RG Kar case: HC allows govt to file appeal against 'life term' order

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted permission to the West Bengal government to file an appeal against the Sealdah court order that sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment until death in the RG Kar hospital doctor's rape and murder case.

Advocate General Kishor Datta moved a division bench presided by Justice Debangsu Basak to file the appeal to seek death penalty of Roy, the sole convict in the case.

The state government sought the high court's permission to file the appeal challenging the order passed by Additional District and Sessions Judge in Sealdah, Anirban Das, on Monday.

The Sealdah court sentenced Roy to life imprisonment until death after he was convicted of raping and murdering the on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, rejecting demands for the death penalty saying it was not a "rarest of the rare" crime.

The court also ordered Roy to pay a Rs 50,000 fine and directed the state government to pay compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the family of the deceased doctor.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday again expressed dismay over the Sealdah court order which awarded life imprisonment till death to Sanjay Roy the sole convict in the rape and murder of a doctor at a state-run hospital.

The Sealdah court sentenced Roy to life imprisonment till death after he was convicted of raping and murdering the on-duty doctor at the state-run Kar Medical College and Hospital, rejecting demands for the death penalty saying it was not a "rarest of the rare" crime.

"I have been seeking capital punishment for the accused in the R G Kar death incident. If someone is so demonic and barbaric, then how can society remain humane? We have passed the Aparajita Bill, but the Centre is sitting on it," she said at a public meeting in Malda.

Banerjee said, "If someone is given life imprisonment, then the person can get freed on parole. I was once a lawyer and fought several cases. The Sealdah court judge said that it was not the rarest of rare cases and could not award capital punishment. If this is not rarest of rare case then what is it".

Aparajita Bill passed by the West Bengal Assembly in September 2024 aims to increase the punishment for rape and other sexual offences by introducing death penalty and life imprisonment.

"I feel it is rare, sensitive and a heinous crime committed by the accused," she said.

On Monday Banerjee had expressed "dissatisfaction" over the Sealdah court order and claimed the probe was "forcibly" taken away from the state police, asserting that had it been with them, they would have ensured a death penalty.

Later, posting on her X handle Banerjee said that the state government would challenge the Sealdah court verdict and move the Calcutta High Court.