Sanjay Roy, the lone accused chargesheeted for the rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, was questioned by a judge at the Sealdah court on Friday.
The trial judge questioned Roy under Section 351 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which empowers the court to ask the accused questions during the trial
and gives the accused the right to respond to the allegations made by the
witnesses.
Roy was questioned on every point mentioned in the statements by the 50 people who had deposed as witnesses in this case so far.
The question-answer session lasted almost six hours, according to sources.
The case will come up for hearing again on January 2.
The in-camera trial had started on November 11. Only a select few — the lawyers for the CBI and the accused and a few CBI officers, apart from the judge — are privy to what transpired in the six hours that Roy was allowed to speak.
On several occasions earlier, Roy had publicly said while being taken into the courtroom that he was not being allowed to speak in the court.
Lawyers not involved in the case said an accused is allowed to speak only after the depositions are over. Once the depositions of the witnesses are over, the court (judge) asks the accused some questions.
After that, “arguments” are held when lawyers from both sides — the prosecution and the defence — present before the court the evidence supporting their claims. Finally, the two sides make their final prayers.
The last step is a pronouncement by the court on whether the accused is guilty or not. If the accused is found guilty, the judge will declare the quantum of punishment.
In the RG Kar case, capital punishment is the maximum punishment the judge can award.
The young doctor was found dead in the seminar hall of the Emergency Building of the hospital on August 9. Roy, who was then a Kolkata Police civic volunteer, was arrested the next day and chargesheeted for the rape and murder of the doctor.
Two others — Sandip Ghosh, a former principal of RG Kar, and Abhijit Mandal, a former officer-in-charge of Tala police station — were arrested later. Both were granted bail as no chargesheet was filed against them within 90 days of their arrest.