Kolkata doctor’s rape, murder: HC rejects West Bengal’s appeal for death penalty but allows CBI plea

The Calcutta High Court on Friday rejected an appeal filed by the West Bengal government seeking a death sentence for Sanjoy Roy, who was convicted of the rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. However, the court admitted a separate appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation with the same demand, Live Law reported.

The two-judge division bench dismissed the state government’s appeal but admitted the central agency’s plea contending the matter was probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, thus making it the prosecution agency.

On January 20, the Sealdah Civil and Criminal Court in the city had found Roy guilty of the crime and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The trial judge refused to grant the death penalty to Roy, sought by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The court said that the crime did not meet the “rarest of rare” criteria for capital punishment.

The “rarest of rare” doctrine is used in India to decide when to impose the death penalty in cases that are particularly brutal, heinous or depraved. The doctrine is often applied in cases of murder, rape and other serious crimes.

The Central Bureau of Investigation’s decision to challenge the trial court’s sentence came hours after it opposed a plea filed by…

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