Supreme Court of India. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Supreme Court on Sunday (August 18, 2024) took suo motu cognisance of the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud is scheduled to hear the case, instituted on the court’s own motion, on Tuesday (August 20, 2024).
Follow Kolkata doctor rape-murder case live updates (August 18) here
The suo motu matter would be called for hearing on the top of the board of cases listed for the day before the Bench.
The case is titled in ‘Re: Alleged Rape and Murder of Trainee Doctor in RG Kar Medical College Hospital, Kolkata and related issues’.
The suo motu cognisance of the issue was registered in the afternoon on Sunday (August 18, 2024).
The body of the doctor was allegedly found in the seminar room of the hospital on August 9, 2024. It is reported that the post-mortem and inquest reports revealed horrifying details of extensive injuries.
The apex court’s suo motu intervention follows an August 13 order of the Calcutta High Court transferring the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from the Kolkata Police. The police had arrested a civic volunteer.
On August 14, the protest site at the R.G. Kar Hospital was vandalised by a mob, leading to a nationwide agitation by doctors. The High Court had pulled up the West Bengal machinery for the incident of violence against the protesting doctors.
Also Read: Protests continue across West Bengal; CBI steps up action
In its August 13 order, the High Court had expressed “surprise” at why the hospital authorities, including the Principal, had not lodged a complaint. The High Court had further acknowledged the apprehensions of the victim’s parents that evidence would likely be destroyed.
“There has been no significant progress in the investigation. The administration was not with the victim or her family. The principal has not even given a statement…Therefore we transfer the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to do justice between parties and to inspire public confidence,” the High Court Bench led by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam had ordered.
