Kolkata, 7 Feb

The Calcutta High Court has rejected an appeal by the West Bengal government contesting the life sentence of Sanjay Roy, the only convict in the RG Kar hospital rape and murder case, while admitting a similar plea from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking the death penalty.

The court's division bench, comprising Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Sabbar Rashidi, ruled that since the CBI conducted the investigation and prosecution, its appeal regarding the inadequacy of the sentence is to be heard. However, the bench denied the state's appeal, which had argued that it also had the right to challenge the trial court's sentence.

The incident occurred on 9 August, when an on-duty medic was raped and murdered within the seminar room of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, igniting nationwide outrage. Roy was apprehended by Kolkata Police the following day. Subsequently, the investigation was transferred to the CBI, which filed a charge sheet on 7 October, with charges framed by the trial court on 4 November.

On 20 January, the trial court sentenced Roy to life imprisonment until the end of his natural life. Both the CBI and the state government have since filed appeals in the high court seeking more severe punishment for Roy. The bench had previously reserved its judgement on the admission of these appeals on 27 January. The parents of both the victim and the convict were represented in court by their respective legal counsel.