Supreme Court refuses to transfer RG Kar rape and murder case trial out of West Bengal

“I know. There are precedents. We have shifted some trials out of Manipur for instance to Assam. Here we are not doing it. Let the trial continue before the Additional Sessions Judge. Otherwise, we will be casting doubts on the legitimacy of our own judicial system,” CJI Chandarchud said while presiding over the bench also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

Appearing for the West Bengal Government, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi opposed the request saying, “There is an attempt to call the trial.”

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, also appearing for the state, said, “We are very keen that this case be taken forward very quickly…That’s very important. The state believes that the person who is involved should be punished as quickly as possible.”

The bench also perused the recommendations submitted by the National Task Force (NTF), which was constituted to “formulate effective recommendations to remedy the issues of concern pertaining to safety, working conditions and well-being of medical professionals and other cognate matters”.

The court pointed out that NTF has formulated its recommendation in two categories — prevention of violence against medical professionals and providing safe working conditions, and prevention of sexual violence against medical professionals. “For the purpose of implementation, the recommendations in category 1 have been classified into those which can be implemented in the short term, medium term, and long term,” the court said. “NTF has suggested that all the measures should be adopted and implemented by all healthcare institutions as well as states/Union Territories,” added the court.

To issue directions for compliance with NTF’s recommendations by all agencies and states, the court directed that a copy of the report be made available to all the counsel appearing in the matter. “The report should also be supplied to the chief secretaries of all states/UTs. In the event that any state/UT intends to make any submissions in regard to the recommendations, sift copies of brief notes of submissions may be filed…within a period of 3 weeks”, the bench said.

CJI Chandrachud said the recommendations are comprehensive and will ask the states to start implementing them.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the August 9, 2024, rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, informed the bench of its fresh status report. “The Additional Sessions Judge, First Court, Sealdah, Kolkata has framed charges punishable under sections 64, 66, and 103 (1) of the BNS, 2023, against the accused, Sanjay Roy. The next date of hearing has been fixed on November 11, 2024,” said the agency.

Taking note, the bench said in the order that “it’s not appropriate to make any detailed reference to the nature of the investigation which is being carried out at present” since the investigation in respect of other aspects is continuing. The bench asked CBI to “keep this court advised of the further status of the investigation and the criminal case, by the next state of hearing after a period of 4 weeks.”