The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an appeal in the Calcutta High Court seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, who was sentenced to "life imprisonment until death" for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The CBI argued that the crime falls under the "rarest of rare" category deserving capital punishment, while the trial court had ruled otherwise. The West Bengal government has also appealed for the death penalty, but the CBI opposed the state's right to file an appeal, claiming it was the prosecuting agency and therefore had the right to appeal on the grounds of inadequacy of the sentence. The high court will hear the appeals from the CBI, the victim's family, and the convict on January 27.
The Calcutta High Court has ordered the formation of a three-member committee to identify and rehabilitate people displaced by violence during protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Murshidabad district. The court also extended the deployment of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) in the area. The committee will consist of officials from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC), and the State Legal Services Authority (SLSA). It will be responsible for identifying displaced persons, assessing damage to properties, collecting FIR data, facilitating FIR filing, and overseeing the well-being of displaced individuals. The state government has been instructed to provide necessary infrastructure to the committee and report on its progress by May 15. The court also directed the state to formulate a rehabilitation scheme for displaced persons, including the construction of damaged houses and shops, compensation for lost livelihoods, and protection for families of those who died in the violence.
The West Bengal government has sought permission from the Calcutta High Court to appeal against the Sealdah court order that sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment until death in the RG Kar hospital doctor's rape and murder case. The state government is seeking the death penalty for Roy, the sole convict in the case, and has expressed dissatisfaction with the Sealdah court's verdict, which did not consider the crime "rarest of the rare." The court also ordered Roy to pay a Rs 50,000 fine and directed the state government to pay compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the family of the deceased doctor.
Senior advocate Vrinda Grover will no longer be representing the family of the victim in the R G Kar Medical College rape-murder case. The trial court has been informed and Grover's chamber, including advocates Soutik Banerjee and Arjun Gooptu, are now discharged from the matter. The chamber had been representing the victim's family pro bono since September 2024, but "certain intervening factors and circumstances" have led to Grover's withdrawal. The case is currently being investigated by the CBI after the Calcutta High Court transferred it from the Kolkata Police.
The West Bengal government has assured the Calcutta High Court that the law and order situation in violence-hit Murshidabad district is under control. The court was hearing a petition by the Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, who alleged bomb blasts during communal riots and sought an NIA investigation. The state government claims adequate steps have been taken to quell the violence, while the Centre has requested an extension of CAPF deployment in the district. The violence erupted during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Murshidabad, displacing several families. The state government has reported that some families have returned to their homes.
The Supreme Court of India has invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in West Bengal's state-run and state-aided schools, deeming the selection process "vitiated and tainted." The court ordered the state government to conduct a fresh selection process within three months. The decision comes after a Calcutta High Court verdict in April 2024, which also annulled the appointments. The apex court, while upholding the high court's order, made some modifications, including exempting disabled employees from returning their salaries. The case stemmed from alleged irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), involving OMR sheet tampering and rank-jumping. The Supreme Court had previously termed it a "systemic fraud." Former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and Trinamool Congress MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha are among the accused being investigated in the recruitment scam.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday pledged to protect the rights of 'eligible candidates' who lost their jobs after a recent Supreme Court verdict, evoking mixed responses from the affected teachers, thousands of whom turned up to hear the leader speak but remained dangling between hope and despair after she finished.
A Kolkata court will pronounce the sentence on Monday for Sanjay Roy, convicted of raping and murdering an on-duty doctor at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital. Roy, a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was found guilty of sexually assaulting the doctor and throttling her to death. The judge will also address questions raised by the victim's father and criticize some activities of the police and hospital authorities.
The court also directed the state to pay a compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the family of the deceased doctor.
Maintaining that other persons were also involved in the crime, the parents of the victim have said that they expect that they will also be arrested and tried before the court.
The anti-corruption unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation also searched the residences and offices of those engaged in supplying materials for the management and care of patients.
The accused in the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder case, Sanjay Roy, was brought to the Sealdah court on Monday. Kolkata Police, fearing he would make further controversial statements, kept blowing the horn of the vehicle carrying him, preventing journalists from hearing his voice. This comes after Roy made remarks against the former Kolkata police commissioner and claimed innocence during his previous court appearance. The trial, which is being heard in-camera on a day-to-day basis, continues with the testimony of three witnesses on Monday. The CBI is investigating the case following an order from the Calcutta High Court. The body of the on-duty doctor was discovered in the seminar room on August 9, sparking nationwide outrage and protests. Former principal Sandip Ghosh and former officer in-charge Abhijit Mondal, accused of tampering with evidence, had their judicial remand extended till December 2.
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Friday filed a defamation case against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Calcutta high court, a day after she said that women complained to her saying that they were afraid to visit the Raj Bhavan because of the activities there, a source said.
The parents of the victim doctor in the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case have alleged that the investigation is incomplete and several others involved in the crime are still at large. The court is set to deliver its verdict on Saturday, with Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, facing charges of committing the crime. The victim's parents expressed concerns about the presence of other individuals at the crime scene who remain unidentified. The CBI, which is investigating the case, has sought capital punishment for Roy, claiming he was the sole perpetrator.
The CBI, tasked by the Calcutta high court to probe the case, received local court approval to conduct a polygraph test on the accused, days after performing a psychoanalysis test on him.
Eighty-seven days after the body of a woman medic was found at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a Kolkata court on Monday framed charges against the prime accused, Sanjay Roy.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said it will hear the matter on May 6.
'Presumption of innocence must guide all formal actions, but transparency must not be mistaken for pre-judgment.' 'The cruel irony, however, is that Justice Varma is a fine judge who enjoys a reputation for writing well-reasoned judgments.'
Healthcare services remained affected at state-run hospitals in West Bengal as junior doctors continued their cease-work protest.
The Sealdah court on Friday granted bail to former officer-in-charge of Tala police station Abhijit Mondal and R G Kar Medical College and Hospital ex-principal Sandip Ghosh in the rape and murder case of an on-duty doctor.
The Calcutta high court on Tuesday directed that a resolution by the special college council members of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital to suspend 57 medics/students will not be effected, until and unless a decision is arrived at by the West Bengal government in this regard.
Officials said the three others who have been arrested are Ghosh's security guard Afsar Ali (44), and hospital vendors Biplav Singha (52) and Suman Hazara (46) who used to supply material to the hospital.
Justice Dash said he was "ready to go back to the organisation" if they call him for any assistance or for any work that he was capable of doing.
Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers on Friday conducted simultaneous search operations at the residences of Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and three of his associates in connection with alleged financial irregularities at the institute, an officer said.
The Calcutta high court on Monday declared as null and void the selection process of State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools, ordering cancellation of all appointments made through it.
On a day when both the West Bengal government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) moved the Calcutta high court for admission of their appeals seeking capital punishment for RG Kar hospital rape-murder convict Sanjay Roy, a counsel for the victim's parents claimed that the family does not want death penalty for him.
The agency has slapped Section 120B of IPC (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 420 IPC (cheating and dishonesty) and Section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended in 2018) which covers unlawful acceptance of gratification by a public servant.
The judge refused to comment on it, stating that he would address all inquiries after submitting his resignation.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers for the fourth consecutive day on Monday questioned the former principal of Kar Medical College, Sandip Ghosh in connection with their probe into the rape and murder of a woman doctor.
The Calcutta high court on Tuesday restrained West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and three others from making any defamatory or incorrect statement against Governor C V Ananda Bose.
A special court in Kolkata on Thursday allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a polygraph test on former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh and four other doctors in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at the hospital, officials said.
Allowing the Centre's review of the August 23, 2022 verdict, a bench Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra recalled the judgement delivered by a three-judge bench headed by former CJI NV Ramana.
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to transfer the rape and murder trial pertaining to a doctor in Kolkata outside West Bengal.
A team of CBI officials reached CID headquarters Bhawani Bhawan in Kolkata before 4 pm. But the handover from the state agency took place at around 6:48 pm, despite the Calcutta high court setting a deadline of 4.15 pm.
Family members of a doctor, who was allegedly raped and murdered in Kolkata last month, joined the protesting medics at RG Kar hospital on Wednesday and accused the Kolkata Police of attempting to suppress the case by hurriedly cremating the body of the doctor.
As the outpatient departments (OPDs) at government hospitals are closed on Sundays, the rush was less even as senior doctors were attending the emergency department to provide treatment to the visiting patients.
The rallies were organised from R G Kar hospital, Sagore Dutta Hospital, SSKM Hospital, Calcutta Medical College, and Jadavpur in south Kolkata.
West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday accused the police of keeping the parents of the doctor who was allegedly raped and murdered under 'house arrest'.
The agency also arrested Abhijit Mondal, the officer in charge of Tala police station, for his alleged involvement in the rape and murder of an on-duty woman medic in the RG Kar Hospital, he said.
A policeman was also arrested in the rape and murder case, the official said.
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