SC sends RG Kar doctor rape-murder case to Calcutta HC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday transferred the petitions related to the R.G. Kar Medical College trainee doctor rape and murder case to the Calcutta High Court, requesting its Chief Justice to constitute an appropriate Division Bench to hear the matter.

A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma directed that all case papers be sent to the Calcutta High Court. The top court declined a plea seeking transfer of the proceedings to the Delhi High Court, made by senior advocate Karuna Nundy, who appeared for protesting doctors from West Bengal and the victim’s parents.

The Supreme Court also directed its Registry to provide a copy of the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) status report to the parents of the deceased doctor.

The apex court had taken suo motu cognisance of the case in 2024 following the brutal crime, which triggered nationwide outrage and prolonged protests by medical professionals across the country.

The body of the postgraduate trainee doctor was found inside the seminar room of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on 9 August 2024. The Kolkata Police arrested Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer, the following day. The investigation was later handed over to the CBI.

On 20 January, a Kolkata trial court awarded Roy life imprisonment till death in the case.

Despite the conviction, the Supreme Court has continued to monitor several ancillary issues arising from the incident, including matters related to the unauthorised absence of doctors during the protests that followed the crime.

While taking suo motu notice last year, the Supreme Court had also constituted a NTF (National Task Force) on 20 August 2024 to frame a comprehensive protocol to ensure the safety and security of medical professionals across the country, particularly in government hospitals.

The transfer of the case marks a formal handover of judicial oversight on the substantive petitions to the Calcutta High Court, even as the broader institutional reforms initiated in the wake of the crime continue to remain under the Supreme Court’s watch.