Sanjay Roy gets life sentence for rape and murder of trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College

Public Lokpal
January 20, 2025

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Sanjay Roy gets life sentence for rape and murder of trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College

KOLKATA: A Kolkata court sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment till death on Monday after he was convicted of rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das in Sealdah had on Saturday held Roy guilty of the crime committed against the postgraduate trainee doctor at the hospital on August 9 last year, which sparked off unprecedented and prolonged nationwide protests.

Judge Das said the crime did not fall under the "rarest of the rare" category as justification for not giving death penalty to the convict.

Judge Das pronounced the sentence at court room number 210.

The same court had pronounced Roy guilty under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita’s sections 64 (punishment for rape), 66 (punishment for causing death) and 103 (punishment for murder). The judge said the evidence produced by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which started the probe on the orders of the Calcutta high court was compelling enough and pronounced him guilty.

On Saturday before giving his verdict, replying to Judge Das, Roy had said he had been framed. 

The CBI lawyer pleaded for the highest penalty for the convict, calling the crime "rarest of the rare".

"We pray for the highest penalty to maintain people's faith in the judiciary," the agency's counsel told the court.

The defence lawyer of Roy argued that the prosecution must provide evidence that can prove that there is no possibility of reform of the convict. The defence counsel prayed for “an alternative punishment other than the death penalty” to allow his reformation.

The lawyer representing the parents of the deceased doctor prayed for the maximum punishment, arguing that Roy, being a civic volunteer, was entrusted with the security of the hospital, but had himself committed the heinous crime on the victim he was supposed to protect.

Judge Das asked Roy’s counsel Sourav Bandyopadhyay and Kabita Sarkar to submit the SC directives in writing.

Found guilty of sexually assaulting the doctor and throttling her to death, Roy was convicted by the judge under Sections 64, 66 and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Section 64 (rape) of the BNS entails a punishment of not less than 10 years and can go up to life term.

Section 66 (punishment for causing death or resulting in persistent vegetative state of victim) provides for punishment of not less than 20 years that may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life, or with death.

Section 103(1) (murder) of BNS provides for the death penalty or imprisonment for life to a person convicted of the crime.

Agencies