The Kolkata High Court on Tuesday allowed the West Bengal government to appeal against the Sealdah court’s order sentencing Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment till death in the rape-murder case of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital.
Advocate General Kishore Dutta appealed to a division bench headed by Justice Debangsu Basak, seeking hanging of Sanjay Roy, the only accused in the case. The state government on Monday sought permission from the High Court to file an appeal challenging the judgment given by Additional District and Sessions Judge, Sealdah Anirban Das. The Sealdah Court ruled that this was not the rarest of rare cases and rejected the death penalty and sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment till death. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Roy and the state government to pay Rs 50,000 to the family of the deceased doctor. An order was given to pay compensation of Rs 17 lakh. Expressing displeasure over the Sealdah court’s decision, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that if Kolkata Police had been allowed to handle the case, we would have ensured death penalty for Sanjay Roy. We all demanded death penalty but the court sentenced life imprisonment till death. The case was forcibly taken away from Kolkata Police. The state government will challenge the decision of the Sealdah court in the High Court.
