Kolkata doctor rape-murder case: Woman legal aid lawyer to defend rape accused Sanjay Roy
Times of India | 23 August 2024
Sealdah court, where the case is being heard now, on Thursday (Right) KOLKATA: Kabita Sarkar, a 52-year-old lawyer, has got the toughest case in her 25-year-old legal career: she has been asked by Sealdah court to defend RG Kar rape-murder accused Sanjoy Roy, because no other lawyer is ready to do it. Sarkar, the State Legal Services Authority (SALSA)'s only standing lawyer in Sealdah, will apply for the case papers on Friday when Roy is produced in court.
Speaking to TOI, Sarkar said, "Like everyone, I, too, want justice for victim. But justice, to me, is only served after a court trial, not before. Everyone in this country has a right to fair trial, including the accused." Responding to the rising women-led movements across India, and the world, on this issue, Sarkar said, "I have to do my job, which is to defend people accused in criminal cases who do not have a lawyer. It is not this case alone. In the past, too, I have had to pay bail bonds from my salary. The court has asked me to represent the accused. That I will do. I will only appeal to the court to allow my senior, lawyer Sourav Banerjee, to accompany me when I speak to the accused," Sarkar said over phone.
Not cut-off from the demands for capital punishment, Sarkar said, "I personally do not support the demand for capital punishment. For me, incarceration for the rest of life would be the highest penal provision. I have, as part of my work, been to prisons, mainly the Presidency Women's Correctional Home. A person, in his lifetime, must be allowed to introspect and lament for the crime. Also we must always remember that the law says one is innocent, till proven guilty."
A Hooghly Mohsin College law graduate, Sarkar had started her legal career at Alipore court, primarily fighting civil cases. Her shift to criminal cases came with her enrolment as a SALSA lawyer in Feb 2023. In June 2023, she was shifted to the Sealdah court. Sarkar said, "This is by far the most high-profile case I have been tasked with. My first priority will be to go through the case papers and file a bail plea. The CBI, I am told, has filed an appeal for online production of the accused. That, I intend to oppose. But it is important that we have access to case documents, so our first efforts will be at that."
Sarkar said she is yet to tell her elderly parents about her new case. "I do not know how they will react. Parents are always more concerned about their daughters. But I am lucky that my husband has backed me, as he always has," Sarkar said. Asked whether she is anxious about the fallout of arguing in this case, Sarkar said, "I would urge you to please not publish my photograph now. There is a seething anger. Not that I am afraid of any harm, but I do not want any distraction beyond the case which I have been tasked to argue. I have always tried to work hard. This case will not be any different."