The tussle between the West Bengal government and the CBI over the similar demand of capital punishment for Sanjay Roy, the convict in the RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case, came to an end on Friday with the Calcutta High Court ruling in favour of the central agency.
Last month, the Sealdah Civil & Criminal Court sentenced Roy to life imprisonment, a verdict delivered by judge Anirban Das. Unhappy with the ruling, the West Bengal government appealed to the high court, arguing that the punishment was insufficient, and pushing for the death penalty.
However, the CBI, which had originally sought capital punishment during Roy’s trial, contested the state’s appeal. The agency argued that since it had conducted the investigation, the West Bengal government had no authority to challenge the verdict. Later, the CBI itself filed an appeal in the high court, reiterating its demand for the death penalty.
The matter was reviewed by a division bench of Justices Debangshu Basak and Mohammad Shabbir Rashidi, who had to determine which appeal would proceed for hearing. On Friday, the bench ruled that since the CBI was the investigating agency, its appeal was valid, while the state government’s appeal was dismissed.
Meanwhile, the victim's parents, who had also demanded the maximum sentence for Roy, had expressed dissatisfaction with the probe. Arguing that he was not the sole perpetrator of the crime against their daughter, they had initially approached the Calcutta High Court.
The high court had directed them to seek clarification from the appropriate forum regarding their plea for further investigation. Following this directive, they moved the Supreme Court.
Although the hearing at the apex court was initially scheduled for March 17, the parents’ counsel submitted a fresh plea requesting an expedited hearing. The Supreme Court on Friday stated that there should not be any haste in the matter and it would be heard on the scheduled date.
