SC Sounds Alarm On Doctor's Safety: West Bengal Govt Under Fire

Concerning Doctor's safety, the Supreme Court addressed concerns about police collusion and evidence manipulation in its criticism of West Bengal's handling of a rape-murder case. Tuesday, the Supreme Court voiced its strong disapproval of West Bengal's handling of the preliminary investigation into the violent rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata's R.G. Kar Hospital last month. The Court said it was "Disturbed" by the probe's findings of gaps that it claimed raised concerns about police complicity and evidence tampering.

Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud led a bench that ordered the state to guarantee local police cooperation with the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is currently investigating the case. The order required the state to provide all evidence requested by the agency, including the entirety of the hospital's CCTV footage.

"It gets worse from what the CBI revealed in its status report! It's quite unsettling. The bench expressed its own discomfort with the events, noting that the agency was investigating potential evidence destruction, failure to seize important things, and other people's possible involvement.” The Court urged the State to make sure that the CBI receives all of the CCTV material, but it declined to reveal the investigation's lines of inquiry for fear that it may sabotage future investigations.

The bench, which also included Judges J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, strongly criticized the State for releasing a notice prohibiting female doctors from working overtime or night shifts, deeming the action discriminatory and against the gender equality principles outlined in the constitution. The state government was compelled by the Court's criticism to acknowledge that it will remove the controversial clauses from the August announcement.

The Junior physicians on strike are prepared to resume work, the Court further noted, provided their general body gives its Approval, and the confidence-boosting measures, which were decided upon during their Monday night meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, are implemented.

The report noted that Junior physicians are on strike due to 'Unsafe Working Conditions' and "Insecure Premises," which the State Government should be taking care of, but they "Do not get any pleasure in abstaining from work."

Author:
Aarya Kadam (News Writer) is a final-year BBA student and a creative writer with a passion for current affairs and legal Judgments.