Kolkata: The Supreme Court on Wednesday transferred proceedings relating to the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to the Calcutta High Court, asking it to monitor the implementation of the top court’s directions in the matter.
A Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma ordered that all case papers be forwarded to the High Court and requested the Chief Justice to place the matter before an appropriate Division Bench. The court also directed that a copy of the latest status report be shared with the victim’s parents.
The apex court had taken suo motu cognisance of the case in 2024, following the discovery of the trainee doctor’s body in a seminar room of the hospital on August 9 last year. A civic volunteer, Sanjay Roy, was arrested the next day and, on January 20 this year, a Kolkata trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment till death.
Appearing for associations of junior and senior doctors, senior advocate Karuna Nundy submitted that the court had earlier constituted a National Task Force (NTF) to evolve a national consensus on the safety and well-being of medical professionals, and that only one further hearing was required to conclude the issue.
Observing that the remaining aspects could be effectively addressed locally, the Bench said a constitutional court in West Bengal was best placed to oversee further compliance.
The investigation, initially conducted by Kolkata Police, was handed over to the CBI in August last year following the High Court’s intervention, with the apex court assuming oversight days later.