The tragic case of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata continues to shake the medical and legal community. Here's a simple breakdown of what's happening so far, the legal proceedings, and what the court has directed.
The previous hearing updates:
Recent SC Hearing Highlights
The case was brought to the Supreme Court after concerns were raised about how the investigation was handled. The Court has pointed out several mistakes made by the police and hospital authorities:
- Delay in Sealing the Crime Scene: The police took 18 hours to seal the crime scene after the post-mortem was done. This delay raised concerns about the possibility of tampering with evidence.
- Improper Registration of Case: The post-mortem was conducted even before the police officially registered the case as "unnatural death”.
The three judges, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, were surprised that an important document was missing. This document, called a challan (also known as PRB Form No 54 or WB Form No 5371) is necessary for doing an autopsy (examining the body after death) as it includes a list of the clothes and items that were with the body when it was sent for autopsy.
“ It is important because it has a column showing what clothes and articles were sent along with the body; we want to see that,” said the CJI, adding, “The post-mortem team won’t accept the body without the challan. That’s why we want to see that.”
One of the judges, Justice JB Pardiwala, also pointed out that the autopsy report didn't mention the challan. He asked the CBI (the investigating team) to find out what happened to the missing document.
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“There is no reference to the challan of the body. Where was the challan of the body when It was handed over for post-mortem”
“ If that document is missing then something is out of place” he added
The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the CBI suggested that maybe the document was created later. To which Adv. Phiroze Edulji, a counsel representing one of the petitioners in the High Court in Calcutta, said that the form was actually shown to the High Court during the High court hearing.
But, Adv. Sibal and Adv, Astha Sharma, counsels representing the State of West Bengal, could not present the form at the hearing and promised to file an affidavit about it. The Supreme Court asked the CBI to submit a new report by September 17.
- CISF Deployment and directed State Co-operation: According to the court's order, three companies of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel have been employed for the security of the medical college and hospital. The State of West Bengal has been directed to provide security gadgets and accommodation, and to nominate a senior officer from the home department to act jointly with the CISF personnel in three locations, including RMO Quarter, KMCP School, and Indira Matri Sadan.
The court has also directed the State Government to make sure that all necessary arrangements are made for the transportation and security of the CISF personnel and to hand over all the necessary supplies within the day.
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No photos to be circulated on social media: The court has further ordered that all social media posts circulating the photographs of the deceased victim be removed to maintain the privacy and dignity of the deceased.
Ensuring Doctors' Safety and Security: The Supreme Court told the West Bengal government to take steps to make doctors feel safe and secure. The government needs to show doctors that their concerns about safety are being taken care of. To do this, the District Collectors and Superintendents of Police need to check the situation and make sure that by the next hearing, the following things are in place to keep doctors safe:
- Separate rooms for male and female doctors to rest and work
- Toilets for both male and female doctors
- CCTV cameras to keep an eye on things and prevent any problems
Doctors to resume work to avoid setbacks in the healthcare system: In a related development, the court has been informed that the healthcare system in West Bengal is facing severe delays and disturbance due to mass strike from work by resident doctors across the state. The doctors have been on strike from work for 28 days, resulting in disorderliness in patient treatment.
The Supreme Court has shown a balanced approach towards the protests. On one hand, it acknowledged the doctors’ concerns about their safety and the failure to provide adequate protection after the incident. On the other hand, the bench focused on the importance of maintaining public health services and has urged the doctors to resume work as soon as possible.
The Court also made it clear that continued refusal to work may lead to tougher legal consequences, even though it remains sympathetic to their demands for safety improvements in hospitals
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As mentioned in the order:
- More than 6,00,000 individuals have been denied treatment as resident doctors are not attending OPDs, causing the daily number of attendees at Government Medical Colleges to drop from 70,000 to 40,000 approximately. This has also significantly restricted access to specialty and super-specialty treatments specially to poor patients such as cardiology, oncology, neurology etc as these facilities are only available at the Medical Colleges.
- Additionally, over 61,000 patients have been denied indoor treatment, and 6,42,000 patients have been unable to access essential lab tests that are typically available free of charge.
- Cardiology treatments such as stenting and angiography have been withheld for approximately 1,500 patients.
- Suspension of around 6,500 major surgeries across various different disciplines;
- There are numerous reports of patients, including those needing cancer treatment, not receiving necessary care, with 53 specific instances documented from media sources.
- Furthermore, information regarding 20 cases of deaths due to the denial of treatment have been recorded including different sources including those reported in the media.
“If the doctors report for duty on or before 5 pm tomorrow, then no adverse disciplinary action shall be taken against them. All concerns on safety and security shall be promptly attended to. However, if there is continuous abstaining from work then disciplinary action can be taken against them and they cannot be oblivious to the general concerns of the community whom they intend to serve”
The apex court added “We know what is happening on the ground, but doctors must now come back to work, they cannot say senior doctors are working so we will not work, we have put everyone on notice,”
“Protests can’t be at the cost of their duties,” the bench stated.
Latest Update: Protests Continue Despite Court Orders
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Even after the Supreme Court urged the junior doctors to resume work, they continued their strike. The protesting doctors argue that their safety is at risk and that they want justice for their colleague before returning to work. They have expressed concerns about harassment and lack of safety measures in the hospital.
In a bold move, they have escalated their protests by marching to the Swasthya Bhavan building in Salt Lake, Kolkata on Tuesday, September 10th. The doctors, who have been on strike, held a rally and sit-in outside the building, despite being stopped by the police. The protesters, carrying brooms and replicas of human brains and eyes, marched approximately 2 kilometres from Karunamoyee to Swasthya Bhavan.
The doctors have given the state government an ultimatum to meet their demands by 5 pm on Tuesday. If their demands are not met, they have vowed to continue their strike.
"We will continue our sit-in and cease work until our demands are met," said Dr. Kinjal Nanda, a protesting doctor. "The corruption in our health system needs to be cleaned, and we will not back down until our demands are met."
On the other hand, Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College, along with Ghosh's security personnel Afsar Ali and contractors Biplab Sinha and Suman Hazra has been sent to judicial custody until September 23 in a related case involving financial irregularities. This case is set for further review in the coming days as the Court awaits a detailed investigation report.
Reference:
- SC Order:
- Bengal Doctors Continue Strike As Supreme Court Deadline To Resume Work Ends - Hindusthan Times
Written by Seersha Chaudhuri
Driven legal professional with a BA LLB and a knack for writing and media reporting. Previously, I’ve crafted legal documents and managed court proceedings at Terkiana PC, focusing on immigration law. I’m also brushing up on my Spanish with Duolingo—learning a new language has never been this fun! Eager to blend my expertise in legal research with my passion for global policy and creative writing. Apart from being a professional, I am a full time lover of fish, dystopian fiction and Brooklyn 99.
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Further Reading
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