The hearing on the admissibility of two petitions by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the West Bengal government seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, the sole convict in the R G Kar rape and murder case, concluded at a division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Monday afternoon.  

The division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi has kept the judgement reserved. At the time of filing the report, it was not clear whether the court’s direction in the matter would surface later in the day or some other day.

Once the judgement in the matter surfaces it will be clear whether both the petitions, one by CBI and the other by the West Bengal government will be admitted, or any one of the two will be admitted.

The hearing started at around 10.30 am and concluded at around 12.45 pm The main contention of the CBI counsel had been that since it was their officials who had been conducting the probe following a previous order of the Calcutta High Court, the central agency and victim’s parents had the right to make the petition and not the state government, since the latter was not a party in the case.

However, the contention of the state government counsel was that in this particular case, the state government could appeal under Section 377 (which allows the state government to appeal a sentence if it considers it inadequate) and Section 378 (relating to appeals against acquittal orders for cognizable and non-bailable offences) of Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC).

To recall, after the body of the woman doctor was recovered from a seminar hall within the premises of state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital premises in the morning of August 9, 2024, the initial investigation was carried out by the Kolkata Police.

The Kolkata Police had arrested Roy. Later, CBI took charge of the investigation following an order of the Calcutta High Court.

Last week a special court in Kolkata sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment. However, both the CBI and the state government approached the Calcutta High Court challenging the special court order and seeking the death penalty for the sole convict.

(This story was taken from a syndicated feed and was only edited for style by Gujarat Samachar Digital team)

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