The Supreme Court shifted the oversight of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case to the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday. A bench led by Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma ordered that all case documents be transferred, noting that a constitutional court within West Bengal is now best positioned to monitor the ongoing implementation of its directives. The court also ensured that the victim’s parents received a copy of the latest status report.
This transition marks a new phase for a case that has gripped the country since August 9 last year, when the body of a postgraduate trainee was discovered in the hospital’s seminar room.
While Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer, was recently sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court, the legal proceedings have expanded far beyond the initial criminal act. Senior advocate Karuna Nundy, representing West Bengal’s medical community, pointed out that the National Task Force (NTF) created by the Supreme Court still needs to finalise its recommendations regarding the systemic safety of healthcare workers.
The NTF's findings have already sparked debate. In its recent report, the panel argued against the need for a new federal law, suggesting that existing state statutes — already present in 24 states — and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provide sufficient legal ground to prosecute violence against doctors.
However, the medical community remains focused on how the recommendations will be enforced to prevent such a tragedy from recurring. By moving the proceedings back to the Calcutta High Court, the Supreme Court is effectively returning the granular monitoring of the case to the local level.
This includes overseeing ancillary issues like the regularisation of protesting doctors' absences and ensuring the CBI — which took over the probe from Kolkata Police last August — continues to meet its obligations. The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court will now designate a specific bench, which handle these matters moving forward.
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