Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Monday (January 27) reserved its verdict on the admission of two separate pleas – one filed by the state government of West Bengal and the other by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) – seeking death penalty for convict Sanjay Roy in rape and murder of woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
A bench comprising Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi reserved the order after hearing submissions made by the West Bengal government and the CBI, which have separately moved the High Court seeking death penalty for Roy.
What did West Bengal govt submit?
The West Bengal government submitted before the bench that the state can also move an appeal against the trial court order on the ground of inadequacy of the sentence awarded by the trial court.
CBI opposed right of West Bengal govt to challenge trial court order
The CBI, which has opposed the right of the state government to challenge the trial court order, opposed the submissions made by the state government and submitted that only it has the right to challenge the trial court order on the ground of inadequacy of sentence as it was the investigating and prosecuting agency.
As per the earlier direction of the High Court, the parents of the deceased woman doctor and the convict were also represented by their counsels before the bench.
Sealdah court last week refused to award capital punishment to convict Roy
A Sealdah trial court last week rejected the submissions made by the CBI seeking capital punishment to convict Roy in the rape and murder case of the on-duty woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 last year and awarded Roy life imprisonment until death, stating the case did not meet the stringent criteria for being classified as “rarest of the rare” case.
What did the Sealdah court say?
“Referring to the landmark Bachan Singh case, which established guidelines for imposing the death penalty, it is evident that this case (rape and murder of on-duty woman doctor) does not meet the stringent criteria for being classified as “rarest of the rare,” the Sealdah trial court said and added, “The Supreme Court has consistently emphasized that the death penalty should be used only in exceptional circumstances where the collective conscience of the community is so shocked that it expects the holders of judicial power to inflict the death penalty.”
