RG Kar Rape-Murder Case: The Supreme Court is set to hear on Wednesday the suo motu case concerning the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last year.
It comes after the Kolkata court’s January 20 ruling sentencing Sanjay Roy to imprisonment till death for the rape and murder of the on-duty doctor. However, it triggered statewide demands for capital punishment for the convict.
The top court will also hear a fresh intervention application moved by the victim’s parents alleging inefficiency in the probe and seeking further investigation into the matter.
The incident of rape and murder of a woman doctor at the RG Kar Medical College took place on August 9, 2024, while the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter on 18 August 2024. Since then, the top court has held multiple hearings regarding the case.
While awarding a life sentence to the convict on January 20, Sealdah Court judge Anirban Das held that the case doesn’t fall into the “rarest of the rare" category, which could have led to a death sentence for Sanjay Roy.
“I think this is not a case of rarest of the rare. That’s why I am giving you imprisonment till your death," the judge said while announcing the quantum of punishment for Sanjay Roy.
In a court order, the judge mentioned that the modern justice system must rise above the instinct of “an eye for an eye." The remark came as the family of the victim, CBI and doctors demanded the death penalty for Roy.
“In the realm of modern justice, we must rise above the primitive instinct of an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth or nail for a nail or a life for a life," the court order read.
Explaining his decision not to award capital punishment to the convict, Justice Das held that the judiciary’s primary responsibility is to uphold the rule of law and ensure justice based on evidence, not public sentiment.
Roy was convicted in the rape and murder case on Saturday, with Justice Das informing him that the minimum sentence being faced by him was life imprisonment, while the maximum sentence could be the death penalty.
The body of the postgraduate trainee was found in a seminar hall at the hospital in the early hours of August 9, 2024. She was killed after being raped.
Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer, was arrested the following day in connection with the crime. Later, the CBI took over the investigation and filed a charge sheet related to the case, paving the way for Roy’s conviction.
Source:News18