Kolkata doctor rape-murder: Supreme Court to hear suo motu case on Aug 20

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider on Tuesday a suo motu case related to the August 9 rape and murder of the Post Graduate trainee doctor at a Kolkata hospital, which has triggered countrywide protests and outrage.

A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra will take up the matter registered as 'In Re: Alleged Rape and Murder of Trainee Doctor in RG Kar Medical College Hospital, Kolkata and related issues'.

The case was instituted suo motu by the apex court as a number of petition letters were sent, raising concerns over the safety and security of medical fraternity following the vandalisation of the hospital premises on August 14 by a mob.

Delhi Medical Association also sought to intervene into the matter, among others, through senior advocate Vijay Hansaria and advocate Sneha Kalita for setting up a committee headed by a former SC judge to prepare a module or scheme for protection of doctors, mandatory installation of CCTV cameras, and mandatory lodging of FIR within 24 hours of any violent incident.

Notably, the Calcutta High Court had already ordered a CBI probe into the incident.

It had also asked the West Bengal government to place on record the entire sequence of events that led to "the unfortunate event" of vandalism of the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital campus, terming it "the complete failure of state machinery".

The HC was informed a mob of approximately 7,000 people gathered at the hospital, broke through the barricades, damaged police vehicles, ransacked the emergency room, and injured 15 police personnel, including the DCP.