R G Kar rape-murder: Supreme Court defers suo-motu hearing to January 29

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday cited paucity of time and deferred to January 29 the hearing on the suo-motu case over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

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

The suo-motu (on its own) plea was set to be heard by the top court for the first time after the sentencing in the doctor's rape and murder which took place on August 9 last year.

The heinous crime triggered nationwide outrage and prolonged protests in West Bengal.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan on Wednesday said there was paucity of time, and moreover, three fresh applications were filed in the case.

"We will take it up at 2 pm on next Wednesday," the CJI said.

Senior advocate Karuna Nandy, representing the Association of Junior and Senior Doctors, mentioned the plea for hearing.

On December 10 last year, the top court took note of the CBI’s latest status report and expressed confidence that the trial in the case was likely to conclude within in a month.

The CBI had informed about the day-to-day -- Monday to Thursday -- trial at a special CBI Court in Sealdah.

The bench had also directed the parties to share their recommendations and suggestions on preventing gender-based violence and developing safety protocols for doctors and medical staff at hospitals across the nation with the court-appointed national task force (NTF).

The bench directed the NTF to file a report and said, "All recommendations and suggestions be sent to the National Task force and a reply be filed by the states and UTs (union territories) to the last report of the NTF."

The body of the post-graduate trainee doctor was found in the hospital's seminar room on August 9, last year following which the Kolkata police arrested civic volunteer Roy the next day in connection with the crime.

While taking a suo motu notice of the case, the bench constituted the NTF on August 20 to formulate a protocol to ensure safety and security of medical professionals in the wake of the crime.

In November last year, the NTF in its report -- part of the Central government's affidavit -- said a separate central law to deal with offences against health care professionals was not required.

The panel said the state laws had adequate provisions to address minor offences besides serious ones under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

In a slew of recommendations, the NTF said 24 states had enacted laws to address violence against health care professionals while defining the terms "health care institutions" and "medical professionals".

The bench then said the case would be next heard in the week commencing March 17, 2025, but said the parties could seek an early hearing if the rape and murder case trial was delayed or an urgency.

Initially investigated by the Kolkata police, the case was transferred to the CBI on August 13 after the Calcutta High Court expressed dissatisfaction over the former's investigation.

The top court subsequently assumed oversight of the matter on August 19, 2024.

Roy was chargesheeted by CBI in October last year.