17 September,2024 02:17 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Supreme Court/ File Photo
The Supreme Court has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to give a status report on its investigation of alleged financial irregularities at Kolkata's R G Kar Medical College and Hospital. This follows the terrible rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the hospital last month, reported PTI.
According to the report, the bench, chaired by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, reviewed the CBI's report on the rape and murder case but decided not to reveal any specifics to avoid interrupting the probe. The issue remains of enormous public interest, and the court refused to halt live streaming of its hearings to ensure openness.
"The father of the deceased has made some suggestions on the leads that should be taken up for investigation. We are not making them public, we will say that these are valuable inputs and the CBI should look into them," the bench said.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, sought to prevent live broadcasting, but his request was denied. Sibal raised concern about threats against female lawyers, but the court assured him that proper action would be taken if such threats materialised, the report added.
"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.
"We will not stop the live streaming of the proceedings. It is in public interest," the bench responded.
Reportedly, the court also challenged a West Bengal government notification that limited night shifts for female doctors, claiming that such restrictions would hinder their careers. Following this, the state administration decided to remove the notification.
"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. This will prejudice their (doctors) careers. The hours of duty should be reasonable for all doctors," the bench said.
The court also questioned the state's decision to hire contract security guards rather than deploy police officers to protect doctors and hospital employees. The West Bengal government told the court that no punitive measures would be taken against the protesting doctors, the report added.
In addition, the court ordered Wikipedia to delete the victim's name and photograph from its site to safeguard her privacy and dignity.
The CBI probe is ongoing, and the court will review the matter the following week.
