Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Expressing strong dissatisfaction over the handling by the West Bengal government and the hospital administration of the horrific rape and murder of the trainee postgraduate doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a national task force to look into the modalities that need to be adhered to ensure the safety of medical professionals across the country.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud was suo motu hearing a case related to Kolkata hospital rape and murder case amid the ongoing nationwide doctors’ strike over it. The matter has been next listed for hearing on Thursday.
Commenting that the nation cannot wait for another rape for changes on the ground, the CJI-led bench expressed strong dissatisfaction with the West Bengal government and the authorities at the hospital over the delay in filing the FIR and other procedural lapses in handling the case.
“Medical professions have become vulnerable to violence. Due to ingrained patriarchal biases, women doctors are targeted more. As more and more women join the workforce, the nation cannot wait for another rape for things to change on the ground,” CJI Chandrachud noted.
The Supreme Court also appealed to the agitating doctors across the nation to call of their strike and resume duty in the interest of the patients. “We earnestly appeal to all the doctors that we are here to ensure that their safety and protection is the matter of highest national concern. Please trust us, that is why we have not left the matter to the high court,” the bench said.
Notably, the three-judge bench led by the CJI and also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, expressed serious reservations over the delay in registering an FIR related to the incident. “Parents were not in the hospital when the incident took place. The onus was on the hospital to register a case.” the Chief Justice asserted.
Taking exception to the mob violence that broke out in the Hospital in the early hours of Thursday and allegations that the Kolkata police fled the scene, the top court also ordered the deployment of the Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) personnel to man the hospital premises.
The suo motu cognisance of the case, titled “In Re: Alleged rape and murder incident of a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, and related issue.” assumes significance in view of the fact that Calcutta High Court is already in action and has transferred the probe into the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
During the hearing, the CJI raised several pressing questions regarding the actions of the hospital’s administration and the local police. “Why was FIR registered three hours after the body was handed over for cremation,” the Supreme Court bench asked.
“What was the principal doing? FIR was not filed; the body was handed late to the parents. What is the police doing? A serious offence has taken place, the crime scene is in a hospital… What are they doing? Allowing vandals to enter the hospital?” CJI Chandrachud asked.
Sandip Ghosh, who resigned as the principal of RG Kar Medical College just two days after the incident, has been under scrutiny by the CBI and questioned for nearly 53 hours over the past four days regarding his actions following the doctor’s death.
In response to the bench’s questions, Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, countered that people at the hospital had taken photos, a case of unnatural death was immediately started, and a board was set up with a judicial magistrate present. However, CJI Chandrachud said that it was the hospital’s duty to file the FIR, especially in the absence of the victim’s parents.
Justice Pardiwala questioned the timeline of the FIR, asking, “Who is the first informant who filed the FIR? What is the time of the FIR?” Mr Sibal responded that the first informant was the father of the victim, who filed the FIR at 11:45 pm, followed by the Vice Principal of the hospital.
The CJI Chandrachud questioned the time at which the victim’s body was handed over for cremation, which was reportedly at 8:30 pm, and pointed out that the FIR was filed three hours later. The autopsy, conducted between 1:45 pm and 4:00 pm, revealed that the doctor had been murdered, yet the FIR was registered much later.
“What was the principal, and the hospital board, doing during this time?” asked CJI Chandrachud. “It appears crime was detected in the morning. The hospital’s principal tried to pass it off as suicide and the parents were not allowed to see the body. No FIR was filed.” “That is not correct,” countered Mr Sibal. “FIR registered immediately, and the inquest shows it is a case of murder.”
Terming the Kolkata hospital incident “horrific,” the bench said it was “deeply concerned” about the absence of safe working conditions for young doctors. “If women are not able to go to work and conditions are not safe, we are denying them equality,” the top court said.
The Supreme Court also said it was “deeply concerned” with the fact that the name of the victim has been all over the media, and the photographs and videos are all over the media. “This is extremely concerning,” the court said. Most young doctors are putting in 36 hours, we must evolve national protocol to ensure safe working conditions,” the bench observed.
“When the conduct of the RG Kar Hospital’s principal was under scrutiny, how was he appointed to another college immediately,” the Supreme Court asked, referring to Sandip Ghosh’s appointment as the principal of the Calcutta Medical College, the city’s top teaching hospital, after he resigned from the RG Kar Hospital.
The Supreme Court also said the power of the West Bengal government should not be “unleashed on protestors”. “It’s a time of national catharsis,” the bench said. “The West Bengal government was expected to maintain law and order and protect the crime scene, unable to comprehend why the state could not do so,” it said.
The Chief Justice also noted that after the principal’s resignation, he was reassigned as principal in another college. The Calcutta High Court instructed the West Bengal Health Department not to appoint Mr Ghosh to any other medical college until further notice. This order followed his brief and contentious appointment as the principal of Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, which was met with protests from students and junior doctors.
The National Task Force (NTF) set up by the apex court comprising top 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 comprise Surgeon 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 Cardiology, AIIMS Delhi, Prof Pallavi Sapre, Dean Grant Medical College Mumbai, Dr Padma Srivastava, Neurology department, AIIMS.
On Monday, the Central Division of the Kolkata Police arrested a second-year B.Com student for allegedly sharing social media posts containing threats to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s life and for revealing the identity of the victim. The police said the posts were “provocative” in nature and could lead to “social unrest and promote hatred” in the community. The student was produced in court on Monday.
The police on resorted to a “mild lathi-charge” and arrested over 20 activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of the BJP, after a scuffle between them during a march to the West Bengal health department headquarters to protest against the hospital incident. The protestors demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who also doubles up as the State’s Health and Home Minister.
A senior officer said the police had put up barricades on several roads leading to Swasthya Bhavan, which the ABVP activists tried to breach. “We have only one demand – the resignation of the Chief Minister. What happened at the (R.G. Kar) hospital is unthinkable,” a woman ABVP activist said.
The Union government has ruled out the need to bring in a Central protection Act, enabling a uniform framework across the country for providing protection to healthcare workers, stating that almost all States have laws in place catering to this demand.
Considering the recent Kolkata rape and murder case and the continued agitation by doctors demanding a safe workplace, the Centre on Monday issued an order to increase security by 25% in all hospitals of the Union government. Deployment of marshals would also be increased depending on the need in hospitals.
Health Ministry officials said deployment of marshals, besides the standard security protocol, would be approved based on individual demands from Central government hospitals after they conduct an assessment of security there.
“Several States and union territories [total 26] have passed legislation to protect healthcare service personnel. These States include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu etc. In all these States, the offence is cognisable and non-bailable. Most State Acts define healthcare service personnel to include doctors, nurses, medical and nursing students, and paramedical staff. Also they define violence as activities causing harm, injury, endangering life, intimidation, obstruction to the ability of a healthcare service person to discharge duty and loss or damage to property in a healthcare institute,’’ said a senior Health Ministry official.
Speaking about the Kolkata case, the official said the nature of the crime was covered under other provisions of laws which were common for all. “We have accepted all the demands of the doctors on strike and also a committee is being formed to strengthen security at workplace after extensive consultation with all stakeholders. We appeal to the doctors to come back to work and ensure that patients are not put to further trouble,’’ said a Health Ministry official.
The Ministry is set to call for a meeting of all heads of Central government hospitals soon to take stock of security measures for their employees in the light of the Kolkata incident. “Institutional FIR in case of violence, additional infrastructural security, including CCTV, extra lighting are part of the advisory issued to hospitals to ensure that employees are safe while on duty. A Central Act is not needed when provisions already exist. Their proper implementation is the need of the hour,’’ added the official.