Kolkata doctor rape and murder case: SC asks striking medics to resume work by Tuesday

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the doctors in West Bengal, who are abstaining from duties as part of protests over the rape-murder of a doctor in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, to immediately return to work. They have been asked to resume their duties by 5 pm on September 10, failing which the State government will be authorised to initiate disciplinary action against them.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra however assured that no punitive action, including transfers, will be ordered against the doctors who return to work.

The Court in the same breath also said the State government should undertake immediate measures to allay the concerns of doctors and ensure their safety and security.

This will involve the installation of CCTV cameras, the establishment of restrooms for male and female doctors, and continuous monitoring by district collectors and police superintendents.

The directive for protesting doctors to resume work followed senior advocate Kapil Sibal’s submission that 23 individuals have died due to inadequate medical treatment. Appearing for the West Bengal government, he also apprised the court that 6 lakh patients so far have been denied medical treatments due to the ongoing doctors' strike.

During the proceedings, the Bench took on record the status report filed by the CBI which is currently investigating the incident. Additionally, the court also reviewed the status report filed by the West Bengal government concerning the mob violence and vandalism that broke out in the hospital premises in the early hours of August 15.

The Chief Justice noted from these reports that there was a delay of "at least 14 hours" in registering the FIR. He also pointed out that the CCTV footage clearly shows accused Sanjoy Roy entering and leaving the seminar hall where the victim's body was found. Accordingly, he sought to know if the West Bengal government had handed over to the CBI the entire CCTV recording. In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta claimed that CCTV footage of only 27 minutes was handed over to the CBI and not the entire recording. Furthermore, the Court flagged that a crucial document referred to as a challan in common parlance, which is typically required during the autopsy process, was missing from the records submitted by the West Bengal government.

Emphasising the importance of this document, the Chief Justice noted that the document details the clothes and items seized and bagged during the investigation. Accordingly, the West Bengal government was asked to submit this document to the court on the next date of hearing which is slated to take place on September 17.

The CBI was also ordered to file a fresh status report on that day. While concluding the proceedings, the Bench also ordered the immediate removal of all photographs of the victim from social media asserting the need to ensure privacy and dignity of the victim as well as the family.

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