Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 7: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a plea to transfer Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder case outside West Bengal and termed as “canteen gossip” a lawyer’s claim that the people of the state were losing faith in the judiciary to justify the demand for transfer of the case outside the state.
“Let the trial start. We will not shift the trial outside West Bengal. That will only cast doubts on our own judiciary,” the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said. The court said this plea to shift the trial outside the State could even be construed as a ploy to delay or sidetrack the trial, scheduled to begin on a day to day basis from November 11.
“We do not want the trial to stop… We know there are factions which want the trial to stop,” the CJI observed. The CJI agreed that in the past some cases like the one of Manipur were transferred outside the parent state for trial, “But that is not required here,” the CJI said.
At one point, a counsel said the people of West Bengal “have lost faith in the judiciary.” The Chief Justice responded sternly and asked the lawyer, “Who are you appearing for? Do not make such general statements. There is no such thing at all.” He added that this was “canteen gossip happening in court.”
To submissions that there were more evidence to unearth and the conspiracy ran deeper than what was on the surface, Chief Justice Chandrachud said the Sessions Judge was a senior judicial officer who had the power to alter the charges. The CJI said the Central agency had also made a point to clarify that the investigation was a “continuing” one.
“If there is more evidence, the CBI would file a supplementary charge-sheet. The Supreme Court does not want to go into all that. The Sessions Judge would consider those aspects,” the CJI said. The court conveyed that the CBI report has informed that the agency was conducting extensive investigation into allegations of financial irregularities in the case.
At the outset, the bench, also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, went through the status report filed by the CBI, which is investigating the heinous rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
“We have seen the sixth status report filed by CBI, which indicates that the Additional Sessions judge has framed charges punishable under Sections 64 and 103 of BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita). The next hearing is on November 11. Since the investigation is underway, we refrain from making observations. Let an updated status report be filed after four weeks,” said the Chief Justice, who retires this Sunday.
A Kolkata sessions court framed charges against the lone accused in the case Sanjay Roy on November 4. The court had said the trial in the case would start on a daily basis on November 11.
The bench also reviewed a report by the National Task Force (NTF) formed to recommend steps to ensure safe working conditions for healthcare staff in hospitals. The Chief Justice said the report must be circulated among Chief Secretaries of all states/Union Territories so that they can make suggestions. He said this exercise must be completed in three weeks. Senior Advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for doctors in Bengal, raised some objections. The Chief Justice asked her to submit the suggestions.
The NTF set up in accordance to an earlier ruling of the Supreme Court, also submitted its recommendations before the bench on Thursday for safety measures at hospitals across the country. Advocate Kanu Agrawal for the Centre, said the NTF report has suggested short term, medium, and long term measures to protect doctors and medical staff in their workplaces. He asked the court to not term the NTF report as ‘interim’ since it has substantial material. “It is a unanimous report agreed upon by all the members of the NTF,” he said.
The Supreme Court ordered the report to be shared with Chief Secretaries of States and the stakeholders. The order also stated that the counsel for junior and senior doctors’ associations to place suggestions on any lacunae in the NTF report, and suggest a mechanism to monitor its implementation in future.
The NTF was appointed by the Supreme Court to prepare an action plan to prevent gender-based violence and ensure dignified working conditions for interns, and resident and non-resident doctors.
The RG Kar rape-murder incident sparked massive protests across the country as doctors took to the streets to demand safety at the workplace. The Mamata Banerjee government drew fire as protesters alleged a cover-up attempt. The Calcutta High Court was not satisfied with the Kolkata Police probe and transferred the case to the CBI. The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter and pulled up the hospital administration for its response after the doctor was found dead. The top court has been monitoring the CBI’s probe since. Once Chief Justice DY Chandrachud retires, the next Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna will take his place on the bench hearing the case.
