RG Kar hearing: SC orders NTF report to be made available to all states, UTs

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that the report prepared by the National Task Force (NTF), set up by the Union government on its order in the aftermath of the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in West Bengal's Kolkata, be made available to Chief Secretaries of all state and Union Territories and other stakeholders, including the doctors’ associations.

A bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, noted that the NTF has formulated recommendations in two categories, first, prevention of violence against medical professionals and providing safe working conditions, and, second, prevention of sexual violence against doctors.

"In order to enable this court to issue directions for compliance with the NTF recommendations, we consider it appropriate to direct that a copy of the report shall be made available to all the counsels appearing in the present batch of proceedings. The report shall also be supplied to the Chief Secretaries of all the states/UTs. In the event, any state/UT intends to make any submission with regard to the recommendations, a brief note of submissions may be filed through the standing counsel to the court master within a period of three weeks," it said.

The Bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, pursued the 6th status report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and said that it would refrain from making any observations since the investigation is underway.

The apex court noted that the trial will commence on November 11 at a special court in Kolkata after charges were framed against the "sole prime accused" in the case, Sanjay Roy. The process of the framing of charges was completed on Monday, exactly 87 days after the body of the junior doctor was discovered at a seminar hall within the state-run R.G. Kar premises on the morning of August 9 this year. Around a month ago, the CBI filed its first charge sheet against Roy, a civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, in the alleged rape and murder case.

In the charge sheet, the CBI did not rule out the possibilities of a larger conspiracy behind the macabre crime that prompted alleged events of tampering and altering of evidence during the initial phase of the investigation which was carried out by Kolkata Police.

Besides Roy, two others arrested by the CBI officials in the matter are the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's former Principal Sandip Ghosh, and the former SHO of Tala Police Station, Abhijit Mondal. RG Kar comes under the jurisdiction of Tala Police Station. The main charges against Ghosh and Mondal are misleading the investigation when the Kolkata Police were carrying out the investigation before it was handed over to the CBI by the Calcutta High Court. Both have been accused of tampering with evidence in the case.

The top court asked the CBI to file a fresh status report before the next date of listing.

In a hearing held last month, the SC had stressed that the NTF should complete its task within a reasonable timeframe.

"We are of the view that the Union government must take proactive measures to ensure that the work of the task force is completed within a reasonable period in the future. Accordingly, the meetings of the NTF shall be held at periodic intervals," it ordered, asking the NTF to apprise the top court about its tentative recommendations by the next date of listing.

"We will give three weeks to NTF to meet and complete all of its work," the SC told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

The Supreme Court had ordered the formation of the NTF to suggest measures for the security of medical professionals across the country, observing that the safety of doctors is the "highest national concern".

Taking suo moto cognisance of the rape and murder case of a junior doctor, the Supreme Court had termed the incident "horrific," which raises the "systemic issue of safety of doctors across the country".

"We are deeply concerned about the fact that there is an absence of safe conditions of work for young doctors across the country, particularly, public hospitals," it had said.