The Calcutta High Court bench recused from hearing the RG Kar rape and murder case, referring the matter to Chief Justice Sujoy Paul to assign a new bench, while the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) continues probing a possible larger conspiracy.
Kolkata, March 12: A division bench of the Calcutta High Court, which had been assigned the RG Kar rape and murder case by then Chief Justice T. S. Sivagnanam, recused itself from hearing the matter on Wednesday.
The bench comprising Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi stated that when the case was allocated to them by the then Chief Justice, their bench was dealing with criminal matters.
However, since this division bench does not hear criminal cases anymore, the judges decided to recuse themselves from hearing the matter and referred the matter back to the current Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, who will now decide which new bench will hear the matter.
The division bench also observed that hearing the matter on a fast-track basis, as pleaded by the parents of the victims, is also not possible at that bench.
On the morning of August 9, 2024, the body of a junior doctor of Kolkata’s state-run RG.Kar Medical College & Hospital — the victim of ghastly rape & murder — was discovered from a seminar hall within the hospital premises.
After a prolonged hearing in the matter, a trial court in Kolkata convicted the sole accused, Sanjay Roy, an erstwhile civic volunteer of Kolkata Police, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. However, since the victim’s parents were not satisfied with the findings of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s investigation into the matter, especially regarding identifying Roy as the sole convict in the case, they approached the Calcutta High Court with their contentions against the CBI findings.
They also pleaded for a fast-track hearing in the matter.
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation continues to probe the possibility of a wider conspiracy behind the rape and murder and has submitted several progress reports to the trial court.
Following the recusal of Justices Basak and Rashidi, it remains to be seen which new bench of the Calcutta High Court will take up the case. (With IANS Inputs)