SC says CBI status report on Kolkata rape-murder case “disturbing”

PTI, New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it was disturbed by the findings given in a status report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the rape and murder of trainee doctor at R G Kar government hospital in Kolkata but refused to divulge the details, saying any disclosure may jeopardise the ongoing investigation. Seeking a status report from the CBI on its probe into financial irregularities allegedly committed by jailed former principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital Sandip Ghosh, the top court, referring to the rape and murder case, said the agency is not “sleeping over” the investigation and it needs to be given time to “unearth the truth.” “What the CBI has revealed in the report is really disturbing. What you are flagging is of utmost concern. We ourselves are concerned, CBI has flagged it for us.

We are ourselves disturbed by what we have read,” the top court told a lawyer who claimed discrepancies in the seizure list and sketch of the crime scene. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also asked the protesting junior doctors in West Bengal to resume work and recorded the assurance from the state government that it will not take any adverse or punitive action against them. Taking note of a letter written by the father of the deceased, the top court directed that the “valuable” inputs furnished by him should be duly considered by the investigating officer.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, assured the court that the investigating agency will maintain contact with the parents of the deceased junior doctor and keep them informed about the ongoing probe to assuage their genuine concerns.As the hearing commenced, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal government, sought stopping of the live proceedings in the case. He alleged that women lawyers working in his chamber were facing threats of acid attacks and rape. “I have great concerns at what is happening. What happens when you livestream matters like this which has huge emotive implications. We are not representing the accused. We appear for the state government and as soon as the court is making a comment our reputation is getting destroyed overnight. We have 50 years of reputation,” Sibal said. The top court assured Sibal it would step in if there were any threats to lawyers and others. “We will not stop the live streaming of the proceedings. It is in public interest,” the bench said.

During the hearing, the apex court took objection to the West Bengal government’s ‘Rattierer Saathi’ programme which prescribes night duty avoidance for women doctors and says that their duty should not exceed 12 hours at a time.“The West Bengal government should correct the notification. Your duty is to provide security, you cannot say that women (doctors) cannot work at night. Pilots, the army etc all work at night.