RG Kar Rape-Murder Case: Supreme Court Directs Removal Of Working Hour Limits For Female Doctors

The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the Central Bureau of Investigation's probe in the RG Kar rape and murder case has been progressing in the right direction and it's investigation is directed to unearth the absolute truth.

The court, however, observed that it would not be apposite to disclose the central agency's leads at this stage as the investigation is still ongoing and the court would not want to jeopardise it.

Appearing for the state of West Bengal, senior advocate Kapil Sibal flagged off reputation concerns because the case is being live streamed. "50 years of reputation has come under scanner overnight because of the live stream. Lawyers in our chambers are getting death and rape threats.," Sibal said.

The court was not moved by Sibal's remarks and said that the case is being live streamed because it is a public interest matter. Therefore, the court said that it will continue to be live streamed.

Referring to the status report submitted by the CBI, the top court said that what the central agency has revealed is disturbing.

The court said that the CBI must maintain contact with the parents of the victim and should keep them informed to assuage their concerns. Certain material regarding the crime scene is available with resident doctors. The same shall be shared with the CBI, the court added.

To protect the identity of the victim, the court directed Wikipedia to take down the name and links that are leading to pictures of the victim from its website.

A counsel appearing for a trust referred to a recent policy of the West Bengal government that limits working hours of women doctors to 12 hours a day and prevents them from working night shifts.

Addressing this, the court said that it was not going to tell any woman in the country that she will not work at night.

It said that the state has to look into this issue and it will have to provide security to women doctors. The state of West Bengal immediately acceded to the top court's request and said that it will remove the notification.

The horrific rape and murder of a resident doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's campus in Kolkata has sent shock waves across the country.

Several doctors have staged peaceful protests following the incident. However, chaos unfurled soon after the incident, when a mob entered the hospital campus during protests and vandalised parts of the hospital. The state police's inability to control the violence has come under scrutiny. The apex court took suo motu cognizance of the case earlier this week.

During the first hearing in the case on Aug. 20, the top court expressed dismay at the way the entire incident was dealt with by authorities and ordered the CBI to submit a status report on the matter. The court also directed the West Bengal government to report on how such large-scale vandalism occurred in the presence of police personnel.

The apex court also took note of the systemic issues pertaining to the safety of medical professionals across the nation and decided to formulate a National Task Force to come up with an action plan for the safety and well-being of medical professionals.

The NTF was required to submit an interim report within three weeks from Aug. 20 and a final report within two months along with appropriate timelines by which the recommendations could be implemented, based on the existing facilities in hospitals.