The Calcutta High Court on Friday rejected the West Bengal government's petition challenging the life sentence handed to RG Kar rape-murder convict Sanjay Roy by a lower court but accepted a similar plea from the CBI. Both the CBI and the Bengal government had filed appeals before the Calcutta High Court seeking a death sentence for Roy.

A division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Sabbar Rashidi said that since the CBI conducted the probe, its petition was being admitted for hearing.

Last month, a CBI court handed a life term till death to Sanjay Roy, a former civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, for raping and murdering a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last year. The incident attracted nationwide attention due to the brutality of the crime, triggering widespread protests by healthcare professionals.

However, the quantum of punishment was challenged by both the Bengal government and the CBI. The probe agency had told the High Court that the state lacked jurisdiction for such a move.

"Only the prosecuting agency can challenge the sentence on grounds of inadequacy," CBI had told the High Court. However, the state government's counsel, countering the CBI's claim, asserted that the initial FIR was filed by the Kolkata Police.

"Law and order is under the state's jurisdiction," the Advocate General had said.

During the sentencing, the CBI court said the case did not fall under the "rarest of the rare" category while justifying its reason for not imposing the death penalty on the convict.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, expressed her displeasure over the verdict, saying such a "heinous crime" warranted capital punishment.

"I have been seeking the death sentence from day one. If the case had remained with us, we would have ensured the death penalty. The CBI intentionally took the case away from us. Such criminals deserve to be hanged," the Trinamool boss said.

Source: India Today