RG Kar rape and murder: Calcutta High Court to hear appeal by convict Sanjay Roy in September

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday said that the appeal filed by RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder convict Sanjoy Roy against his conviction by the trial court will be heard in September [Sanjay Roy v The Central Bureau of Investigation].

A Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi said that Roy's plea for acquittal would be considered along with the appeal filed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking enhancement of Roy’s punishment from life imprisonment to the death penalty.

Roy's lawyer told the Court today that he was convicted based on one witness statement and circumstantial evidence.

Meanwhile, the CBI said the act is heinous and rarest of rare, deserving death penalty.

A Sealdah CBI court in January 2025 sentenced Roy, a former civic police volunteer, to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate medical student at RG Kar Medical College.

The CBI court found Roy guilty under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (causing death during rape), and 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. He was fined ₹50,000 and ordered to pay ₹17 lakh in compensation to the victim’s family.

The incident took place on the night of August 8, 2024, and trigered mass protests and strikes by doctors across the country, demanding swift justice.

Roy was arrested on August 10 after CCTV footage, forensic evidence, and DNA samples linked him directly to the crime.

Senior Advocate Kaushik Gupta and advocate Senjuti Chakrabarti appeared for Roy.

They have been appointed through Calcutta High Court Legal Services Committee.