Supreme Court rejects transfer of RG Kar rape-murder case outside West Bengal

The Supreme Court on Thursday (November 7) rejected the plea to shift the criminal proceedings in the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case outside West Bengal. In the defense put forward by a lawyer, it was requested that the hearing be moved to another location due to concerns about the state’s judiciary and law enforcement. However, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra rejected the request.

Responding to the transfer request, CJI Chandrachud said, “Yes, we have done that in cases like Manipur, but we are not doing anything like that here. There is no such transfer.” When the lawyer claimed that “the people of West Bengal have lost confidence in the police and the judiciary”, CJI Chandrachud said, “Don’t talk about people. For whom are you coming forward now? Don’t make such general statements. There is absolutely no such thing.”

The case relates to the rape and murder of a 31-year-old junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata on August 9, sparking outrage and protests from the medical community across the country. Autopsy results confirmed sexual assault and murder, sparking a movement among doctors calling for tighter security measures. The Calcutta High Court then handed over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The apex court, acting on a suo motu basis, has also focused on workplace safety issues for medical professionals. To address these concerns, the court had previously ordered the establishment of a National Task Force (NTF), which submitted a report today recommending measures to protect healthcare workers from sexual violence and promote safer working conditions.

Advocate Kanu Agrawal, representing the central government, apprised the Court of the NTF’s recommendations, which include short-term, medium-term and long-term strategies to improve workplace safety. CJI Chandrachud directed that the report be distributed to stakeholders, including all states, for feedback within three weeks. He also invited input from the legal community, stating: “All advisors can also make suggestions on how the report can be improved and ways to strengthen the recommendations.”

Meanwhile, the CBI informed the Court about its ongoing investigation and confirmed that a chargesheet has been filed against the accused Sanjay Roy in rape and murder and the trial will continue on November 11. The Supreme Court requested greater status. The report from CBI will come in four weeks.

“We have seen the sixth situation report submitted by the CBI… We refrain from making observations as the investigation is ongoing. Allow an updated status report to be submitted after four weeks,” the court said.