Kolkata, 16 July (H.S.) -

The Calcutta High Court will begin hearing in September on the appeal filed by Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer convicted of raping and murdering a student of RG Kar Medical College. Roy, who is currently serving a life sentence, has pleaded innocence and sought acquittal. Simultaneously, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has challenged the lower court’s judgment, demanding capital punishment for the convict.

A division bench comprising Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Mohammad Shabbar Rashidi admitted both appeals on Wednesday and directed that the hearings be held together.

Roy's counsel, Kaushik Gupta, argued before the court that the conviction was based on limited evidence and that his client had been wrongly implicated. The lawyer further claimed that Roy was himself a victim in the case and requested the court to acquit him of all charges.

In January this year, the Sealdah court had sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment after holding him guilty of sexually assaulting and murdering the medical student. At the time of the crime, Roy was employed as a civic volunteer with Kolkata Police. He was later dismissed from service following the revelations.

The High Court also noted that the victim’s family may assist the court during the hearing, should they wish to do so.

The CBI, which took over the investigation into the heinous crime, has filed a separate appeal seeking enhancement of the sentence from life imprisonment to death penalty.

The case is now set for detailed hearings in September, during which the court will examine arguments from both the defense and the prosecution before deciding whether Roy will be acquitted or face a harsher punishment.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh