RG Kar case: Calcutta HC to hear today Bengal govt’s plea seeking death penalty for convict

Kolkata, Jan 22
A division bench of the Calcutta High Court will hear on Wednesday the plea by the West Bengal government challenging the verdict of a special court in Kolkata in the rape and murder of a woman doctor of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The special court had foundSnajy Rouy guilty and had sentenced him to life imprisonment.

In the plea submitted on Tuesday by the state Advocate General Kishor Datta on behalf of the West Bengal government at the division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi, the government has sought a "death penalty" for the convict.

The division bench admitted the statement and as per the cause-list of the Calcutta High Court for Wednesday, the said division bench will take up the matter for hearing.

After the special court pronounced the quantum of sentence, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Monday evening that the state government would approach the Calcutta High Court to challenge the verdict.

She also said the state government will be seeking the "death penalty" for the convict. Even on Tuesday afternoon while addressing a state government meeting at Malda district, a couple of hours after the state Advocate General filed the petition at the Calcutta High Court, the Chief Minister gave an explanation on why she and her government had been pressing for the death penalty for the convict.

She said that society could not have a “humanitarian” approach towards an “inhuman” individual.

“What is the meaning of ‘life imprisonment’? Often lifers get released on parole. If a convict is alive there is a chance that he might commit the same crime again. If anyone chooses to be ‘inhuman’, how can society be ‘humanitarian’ towards him? That is why we demanded a ‘death sentence’ for the convict in the R.G. Kar tragedy. It is really the rarest of rare crimes,” the Chief Minister said on Tuesday afternoon.