"Not Our Job To Protect Criminals": Bengal Seeks Death Penalty For RG Kar Convict

The Mamata Banerjee government has challenged the trial court's life imprisonment order against the RG Kar rape-murder case convict in the Calcutta High Court, demanding that he be given the death penalty.

Sanjay Roy, a former civic volunteer who worked for the city police, was found guilty and sentenced to life term yesterday by a Sessions Court, with the judge noting the case was not in the "rarest of rare" category for a death penalty.

Advocate General Kishore Dutta moved the high court's division bench headed by Justice Debangshu Basak today seeking the death penalty for Roy. The high court has allowed the matter to be filed.

Ms Banerjee - whose government had come under fire for allegedly mishandling the case - expressed disappointment with the lower court's order today, saying it is not the state's job to protect criminals.

"When someone is a demon, can the society be human? Sometimes they get out after a few years. If someone commits a crime, should we forgive them? How does the judgment say it is not the 'rarest of rare' (case)? I say it is rare, sensitive, and heinous. If someone commits a crime and gets away, he will do it again. Our job is not to protect them," said Ms Banerjee

She also said that the Bengal assembly had passed the Aparajita Bill "to protect the dignity of mothers and daughters", but it is still lying with the Centre.

Read: Mamata Banerjee Seeks Death Penalty For RG Kar Convict, To Go To High Court

The RG Kar case sparked massive outrage last year after an on-duty trainee doctor was found dead on August 9. The case, initially probed by Kolkata Police, was transferred to the CBI after allegations of mishandling by the protesting doctors.

Roy was found guilty on Saturday under sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita relating to rape and murder. On Monday, the trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment.

During the final arguments, the convict pleaded he was framed, to which the court said the charges against him were proven.

Read: 'Must Rise Above Eye For An Eye': Why No Death Penalty For RG Kar Convict

In his 172-page judgment, Judge Anirban Das noted the crime was "particularly heinous", but "arguments for ultimate punishment" must balance against the "principles of reformative justice and the sanctity of human life".

Stating that the judiciary must ensure justice based on evidence and not public sentiment, he said the court must resist the temptation to bow to public pressure and emotional appeals.

"In the realm of modern justice, we must rise above the primitive instinct of 'an eye for an eye' or 'a tooth for a tooth' or 'nail for a nail' or 'a life for a life'. Our duty is not to match brutality with brutality, but to elevate humanity through wisdom, compassion, and a deeper understanding of justice," said Judge Das.

The judge also ordered financial assistance of Rs 17 lakh to be paid to the victim's parents. But the grieving couple refused and said they want only justice.

Ms Banerjee had said the city cops would have ensured the death penalty in the case, but it was taken away from them.

"We ensured death penalty in three cases within 60 days. If the case stayed with us, we would have ensured death penalty long back. I am not satisfied. Had it been the death penalty, at least my heart would have been somewhat at peace," Ms Banerjee said.

Later in the evening, she said in an online post that the case fell in the "rarest of rare" category that warrants the death penalty and asserted her government would plead in the high court.