Guwahati: The Calcutta High Court has authorised the West Bengal government to appeal the Sealdah court’s decision in the RG Kar hospital doctor’s rape and murder case.
The Sealdah court had sentenced Sanjay Roy, the sole convict, to life imprisonment until death.
Roy had been convicted of raping and murdering a doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Advocate General Kishor Datta petitioned the court, seeking to upgrade Roy’s sentence to the death penalty.
The state government argued that the Sealdah court’s verdict was insufficient, as the crime did not qualify as the “rarest of the rare” case that warrants a death sentence.
In addition to the life sentence, the Sealdah court imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Roy and ordered a Rs 17 lakh compensation for the victim’s family.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her disappointment with the Sealdah court’s ruling.
She stated that, had the case been handled by Kolkata Police, the death penalty would have been pursued.
Banerjee also affirmed that the state government would challenge the verdict in the Calcutta High Court.
