New Delhi, January 22: The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on January 29 regarding its suo motu cognizance of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, an incident that occurred in August 2024.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan, announced the deferral during a session on Wednesday, citing a lack of time. The bench also directed senior advocate Karuna Nundy, representing medical professional associations, to provide interlocutory applications to the opposing counsel.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has approached the Calcutta High Court, challenging the life imprisonment verdict given to Sanjay Roy, the sole convict in the case. The state is seeking the death penalty, asserting that the crime qualifies as a "rarest of rare" case.
On the other hand, the Calcutta High Court will rule on the admissibility of the state’s appeal on January 27. The CBI, which investigated the case, has argued that only the agency or the victim's family can challenge the sentencing, not the state government.
In its earlier judgment, the Kolkata special court sentenced Roy, a former civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, to life imprisonment, imposing a fine of ₹50,000. The court also ordered the West Bengal government to pay ₹17 lakh as compensation to the victim’s family, citing the incident occurred on state government premises.
Special court judge Anirban Das rejected the CBI’s request for the death penalty, stating the crime did not meet the criteria for the "rarest of rare" cases.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed dissatisfaction with the life sentence and reiterated her demand for capital punishment, describing the crime as "sinister and sensitive."
