Wed Jan 22 13:14:45 IST 2025: ## Bengal’s Appeal Against Life Sentence for RG Kar Hospital Murderer Deemed Unmaintainable

**Kolkata, January 25** – The West Bengal government’s appeal for the death penalty against Sanjay Roy, convicted of raping and murdering a doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital, has been deemed unmaintainable by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI informed the Calcutta High Court this morning that only the union government or the CBI itself can appeal the inadequacy of a sentence in cases investigated by a central agency, citing Supreme Court precedent.

The state government had appealed the lower court’s life imprisonment sentence, arguing the crime warranted the death penalty. However, the CBI countered that the initial FIR was filed by the Kolkata Police, before the High Court transferred the case to the CBI. The CBI further cited the Lalu Prasad Yadav case, arguing that only the prosecutor (in this case, the CBI) can appeal a sentence.

The court, noting the state’s argument that law and order is a state subject and that the state cannot be considered a bystander, adjourned the hearing until January 27th. The court also expressed strong displeasure at Roy’s lawyer being denied access to his client.

This case has been highly controversial, sparking widespread outrage and political squabbling. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed strong disappointment with the life sentence, criticizing the lower court’s assertion that the case did not meet the “rarest of rare” criteria for the death penalty. She claimed that if the state police had handled the investigation, the death penalty would have been secured. The CBI’s investigation, however, faced criticism from various quarters, including the victim’s family, for failing to arrest other potential accomplices. The victim’s mother reiterated that justice remains incomplete.

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