The Calcutta High Court has assigned the R G Kar rape-murder case to a special bench comprising Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Tirthankar Ghosh. This marks the fourth bench to be tasked with hearing the case, following a series of recusals by earlier benches.
Background of the Case
The incident occurred on August 9, 2024, when a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The prime suspect, Sanjay Roy, was initially arrested by the Kolkata Police. Subsequently, the Calcutta High Court handed over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Based on the CBI probe, Roy was convicted by the Sealdah court on January 19, 2025, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Recusal of Previous Benches
Earlier this week, on Tuesday, the division bench of Justices Rajasekhar Mantha and Rai Chattopadhyay recused themselves from the case, citing a heavy roster. During the hearing, Justice Mantha had remarked on the possibility of forming a judicial commission to look into the matter.
Prior to this, two other benches had also released the case. The single bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh recused on August 28, 2025, after the parents of the victim moved his bench, aggrieved by the probe. Justice Ghosh noted that two other petitions challenging Roy's punishment were pending before the division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak. Subsequently, the division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi released the case on March 11, 2026. The bench observed that one of the litigants had written to the Chief Justice seeking an expeditious hearing, but the bench was unable to accord the requisite priority due to the number of pending matters. The bench stated, "Since we are no longer the regular appeal court hearing criminal appeals and considering the number of matters pending in our regular determination, we are not in a position to accord the requisite priority to the hearing of these matters as desired by one of the litigants."
Current Special Bench
The special bench formed by Chief Justice Sujoy Paul will hear multiple cases linked to the incident. These include a petition by the parents of the victim seeking a further probe, another case by Sanjay Roy challenging his conviction, and a case by the CBI seeking the death sentence for Roy. The bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Tirthankar Ghosh is expected to take up these matters expeditiously.
