Supreme Court Hearing RG Kar Medical College Rape & Murder Cae

 "The nation cannot wait for another violation for real change on the ground": Supreme Court

The Supreme Court, which heard the Calcutta hit-and-run case today, said the nation cannot wait for another violation to bring changes on the ground. The bench headed by DY Chandrachud also expressed deep displeasure with the West Bengal government and the hospital authorities over the delay in lodging the FIR and other procedural lapses in the handling of the case. "The medical profession has become vulnerable to violence. Due to entrenched patriarchal prejudices, female doctors are increasingly targeted. As more women join the workforce, the nation cannot wait for another violation because things vary on the ground,” CJI Chandrachud noted. During the hearing, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud raised some pressing questions about the actions of the hospital administration and the local police.

"Why was the FIR registered three hours after the body was handed over for cremation," he asked the Supreme Court.

"What was the director doing?"

Only the Supreme Court has initiated investigations into the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old young doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. The incident sparked widespread protests across the country. country and raised questions about the safety of women, especially in medical schools.

The three-judge bench is headed by CJI Chandrachud and includes Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. - What was the boss doing? No investigation report was made, the dead body was handed over to the parents late. What are the police doing? A serious crime has been committed, the crime scene is in the hospital... What is he doing? "Leave the vandals in the hospital?" asked Chief Justice Chandrachud.

Sandip Ghosh, who resigned as principal of RG Kar Medical College just two days after the incident, was examined by the CBI and questioned for nearly 53 hours in the last four days about his actions after the death of the doctor.

In response to questions from the court, Kapil Sibal, representing the government of West Bengal, replied that people in the hospital had taken pictures, a case of unnatural death was immediately initiated and a commission was created in presence of a judicial magistrate. However, Chief Justice Chandrachud said it was the duty of the hospital to file the FIR, especially in the absence of the victim's parents. Justice Pardiwala questioned the chronology of the FIR, asking, “Who is the first informer to file the FIR? What is the timing of FIR? » Mr. Sibal replied that the first informant was the father of the victim, who filed the FIR at 11:45 PM, followed by the Deputy Director of the hospital.

CJI Chandrachud asked the time when the victim's body was handed over for cremation, which was said to be at 8.30 pm, and said the FIR was lodged three hours later. Post-mortem, conducted between 1.45 pm and 4.00 pm, revealed that the doctor had been murdered, but the FIR was registered much later. "What were the director of the hospital and the board of directors doing at this time?" asked CJI Chandrachud. "It seems that the crime was discovered in the morning. The director of the hospital tried to consider it a suicide and the parents were not allowed to see the body. No FIR has been lodged.”

The Chief Justice also noted that after the resignation of the principal, he was appointed as the principal of another college.

The Calcutta High Court has directed the West Bengal health department not to appoint Mr Ghosh to any other medical college until further orders. The order followed his brief and controversial appointment as head of the National Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta, which sparked protests from students and junior doctors.

National Working Group

In addition, the Supreme Court has established a National Task Force (NTF) consisting of senior doctors who will submit recommendations to ensure the safety of doctors. The NTF has been asked to submit an interim report within three weeks and a final report within two months. The task force will include Vice Admiral R Sarin, Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, Dr M Shreenivas, Dr Pratima Murty, Dr Goverdhan Dutt Puri, Dr Saumitra Rawat, Prof Anita Saxena, Head of Cardiology, AIIMS Delhi, by Prof Pallavi Sapre, Dean , Grant Medical College Mumbai, by Dr. Padma Srivastava, Department of Neurology, AIIMS.