On Thursday, the Indian Supreme Court refused to move the RG Kar rape and murder trial outside of West Bengal. A doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital is accused of being raped and killed in this case. Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud led the bench, which declared that the trial court judge had enough power to conduct more investigations if needed given the information at hand.
Noting that the inquiry was still underway, the Court also examined the sixth status report that the CBI had submitted on the case but chose not to comment. After being taken over from Kolkata police in August, the CBI’s investigation has been scrutinized through a number of sessions meant to guarantee an impartial and open inquiry. The Supreme Court noted that Sanjay Roy, the main accused, was charged on November 4 and that daily proceedings will start on November 11 for the trial.
The National Task Force (NTF), which was established to develop safety guidelines for medical personnel, gave its report at the hearing. In order to protect physicians and medical personnel, the Supreme Court ordered that this report be distributed to all states and union territories. Four weeks later was the date of the next hearing on the case.
Because of the heinousness of the act and the nationwide protests by medical experts, the case has received a lot of attention. The Supreme Court had already questioned the West Bengal government in reaction to the murder on a number of matters, including the hiring procedure for community volunteers and the postponed installation of security features like CCTV cameras and restrooms in medical schools. The Court ordered that these concerns be rectified by October 15 after expressing displeasure with the state’s sluggish progress on them in September.
A nationwide discussion about healthcare worker safety was also sparked by the tragedy, particularly since the police took a while to report it. The Kolkata police were chastised by the Supreme Court for their lack of due process and slowness in looking into the unexplained death. There have been several requests for justice and for better safeguards for medical personnel who operate in stressful situations as a result of the case, which involves grave accusations of wrongdoing and poor management by local authorities.
Discussions about police responsibility, doctor safety, and the need for stronger safeguards for healthcare professionals are still centered on the RG Kar case.
SOURCE :
INDIAN EXPRESS
