Supreme Court takes suo moto cognizance of Kolkata rape-murder case

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has taken suo moto cognisance of the rape and murder of a doctor in state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal. A bench of Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, will hear the case on August 20.

The body of the post-graduate trainee doctor was found in the RG Kar Hospital’s seminar room on August 9. The Kolkata Police arrested a civic volunteer the next day in this connection. Calcutta High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the investigation, after expressing a lack of satisfaction with the Kolkata Police.

On Friday, two lawyers practising in the Supreme Court and a doctor from Telangana wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, urging him to take suo moto cognizance of the rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Advocates Ujjawal Gaur and Rohit Pandey wrote the letter to the CJI saying to take suo moto cognizance of the incident, for it is the need of the hour that the highest court of the land intervenes with the urgency and gravity that this situation demands.

“The nation looks to the judiciary as the ultimate guardian of justice, the last refuge for those whose cries have been silenced by brutality. The victim in this case, a young doctor whose life was dedicated to serving others, deserves nothing less than the full measure of justice that our legal system can provide. Her death must not be in vain, it must galvanise us to act, to ensure that no other woman suffers such a fate,” stated the letter.

It further stated that the time has come for the judiciary to send a clear and resounding message that such heinous crimes will not be tolerated, and the sanctity of life and the dignity of women must be fiercely protected by the full might of the law.

Another letter petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking immediate intervention following a series of incidents of attacks on medical professionals, particularly the incident at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata.

Another letter petition by Dr Monica Singh, from the Army College of Dental Sciences from Secunderabad, Telangana, through her advocate Satyam Singh, sought immediate intervention following a series of incidents of attacks on medical professionals, particularly the incident of Kolkata. It highlighted the rape and murder of the PG doctor at a Kolkata medical college on August 9, 2024, and subsequent attacks on the RG Kar Medical College on August 14.

Through the letter Singh sought a thorough and impartial investigation into the attacks, as well as comprehensive security measures for medical institutions across the country.

On August 9, a postgraduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered on duty at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, which has led to nationwide strikes and civil societies and doctors across States protested against the incident and demanded severe punishment to the accused persons and sought safety and security for themselves. (ANI)

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