New Delhi, Dec 17 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday transferred to the Calcutta High Court the suo motu proceedings initiated by it in the rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, for monitoring the implementation of the directions issued in the case.
A bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma directed that the Calcutta High Court would hereafter oversee compliance with the orders passed by the Supreme Court while dealing with the matter.
“We deem it appropriate to refer the matter to a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, with a request to the Chief Justice to place the matter before an appropriate bench. The Registry is directed to transmit all records to the Calcutta High Court,” the bench directed.
The court also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to furnish copies of the status reports submitted before it to the parents of the victim.
The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident in August 2024, which had triggered nationwide protests by doctors and medical associations demanding accountability and enhanced safety at medical workplaces.
During the proceedings, the court passed several directions relating to the investigation and broader issues concerning the safety and working conditions of medical professionals.
On August 20, 2024, the court had flagged serious deficiencies in public hospitals, including the absence of resting rooms for doctors on night duty, lack of separate duty rooms for men and women, excessively long duty hours without basic hygiene facilities, shortage of security personnel, inadequate toilets and poor transport facilities for doctors living away from hospitals.
To address these systemic concerns, the Supreme Court constituted a ten-member National Task Force headed by Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, Director General Medical Services (Navy), to make recommendations on the safety, working conditions, and well-being of medical professionals.
The court had also urged states not to take coercive action against protesting doctors and had sought periodic status reports on the progress of the investigation and compliance with its directions.
With the transfer of the suo motu case, the Calcutta High Court will now monitor the implementation of the Supreme Court’s orders. The High Court had earlier transferred the investigation in the case to the CBI.
In January this year, a sessions court at Sealdah, Kolkata, sentenced the prime accused, Sanjoy Roy, to life imprisonment after convicting him under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (causing injury resulting in death of the rape victim), and 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
SC transfers suo motu RG Kar rape-murder case to Calcutta HC for monitoring compliance
