The Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, is set to hear the suo motu case related to the Kolkata rape-murder on Tuesday. This will be the first hearing since nationwide protests by doctors demanding justice for the 31-year-old trainee doctor who was brutally raped and killed at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The Supreme Court will hear the matter today (August 20) with a bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra scheduled to hear the case.
The Delhi Medical Association on Monday petitioned the Supreme Court to be included as a party in the suo motu case.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, which had taken cognisance of the incident, has prioritised the matter.
Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, faces further scrutiny as the West Bengal government on Monday established a Special Investigation Team to probe financial irregularities at the hospital from January 2021 to the present. The action follows as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers interrogated Sandip Ghosh for the fourth consecutive day on Monday.
The Delhi-based doctors’ association, representing over 15,000 members, has requested the formation of a committee led by a former Supreme Court judge to develop a framework for protecting doctors and medical personnel from violence in hospitals and public healthcare centers.
Meanwhile, the CBI has been granted permission to administer a polygraph test on the arrested suspect in the Kolkata rape-murder case, according to CBI sources. On August 18, the CBI team investigating the incident conducted a 3D laser mapping and examination of the emergency ward at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
On August 13, the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the investigation from Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which commenced its probe on August 14. The HC’s order came while hearing petitions, including one filed by the victim’s parents, who requested a court-monitored investigation.
Regarding the vandalism that occurred on the night of August 14 inside the RGK Hospital premises, the High Court noted that the mob violence at the hospital represented an absolute failure of the state machinery. On August 16, the court directed the police and hospital authorities to submit affidavits detailing the situation.
The alleged rape and murder of a junior doctor in a seminar hall at a state-run hospital has ignited nationwide protests. The medic’s body, bearing severe injury marks, was discovered inside the seminar hall of the hospital’s chest department on August 9. The following day, Kolkata Police arrested a civic volunteer in connection with the case.
Based on input from agencies.
