Kolkata, March 28 The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Friday, will submit the case diary in the RG Kar rape and murder case at the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh.
The court is conducting a fresh hearing in the matter following a clearance from the Supreme Court earlier this month.
This will be the second day of the fresh hearing at Justice Ghosh’s bench and all eyes and ears will be on the proceedings to see whether the CBI counsel gives some clarification on question asked by the court during the previous hearing -- whether it was a case of “rape” or “gang-rape.”
On the first day of the fresh hearing on March 24, Justice Ghosh had directed the central agency to clarify its observation on this “rape versus gang-rape” theory.
At the same time, besides seeking the case diary in the matter, Justice Ghosh directed the CBI to give some clarification on whether the second round of investigation was about just “evidence tampering and altering”, or whether there were more accused in the main crime of rape and murder other than the already convicted civic volunteer, Sanjay Roy.
Recently, a special court in Kolkata convicted Sanjay Roy, so far as the sole convict in the crime of rape and murder, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. However, the CBI has already approached the Calcutta High Court, challenging the special court order and demanding life imprisonment for Roy.
On the first day of the fresh hearing at Justice Ghosh’s bench on March 24, the West Bengal government counsel and four-time Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee took a “tactically balanced stand” in the matter.
While making a submission that the state government was not opposed to any fresh investigation, Banerjee also raised a question on the legal tenability of such a fresh probe after the special court had already pronounced the sentence for Sanjay Roy.
To recall, with the Supreme Court, earlier this month, permitting a parallel hearing in the case at Calcutta High Court, the counsels of the victim's parents approached Justice Ghosh’s bench with a fresh petition.
The matter was admitted by Justice Ghosh, and accordingly, March 24 was fixed as the first day of the fresh hearing.
Earlier, when the victim’s parents approached Justice Ghosh’s bench, the latter was not agreeable to hearing the matter since it was already being heard at the apex court. However, after the apex court's approval parallel hearings can happen both at the apex court and the high court, besides the one already continuing at a special court in Kolkata.
The body of the junior woman doctor was recovered from a seminar hall within the premises of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on the morning of August 9 last year.
The initial probe was being conducted by a special investigation team of Kolkata Police, whose members also arrested the sole convict in the case and civic volunteer Sanjay Roy. However, later, the probe was handed over to the CBI following an order of the Calcutta High Court.
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