Kolkata: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit a status report on its investigation into the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate medical student at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
The bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and including Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, also decided to establish a national task force of senior doctors.
This development is particularly noteworthy as the Calcutta High Court has already been involved and has assigned the investigation to the CBI.
Amidst calls from the Opposition for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation, various medical associations and a lawyer approached the Supreme Court with interim applications regarding the case.
The Federation of Association of Medical Consultants of India (FAMCI), the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA), and lawyer Vishal Tiwari have expressed concerns over the safety of medical workers in hospitals nationwide, citing the lack of a central law. Despite longstanding demands for basic safety measures, they argue that medical workers are still facing hazardous conditions.
They have called on the central government to create uniform guidelines to protect healthcare workers and to fill the voids in state-level legislation.
The plea also suggests that resident doctors in medical colleges and government hospital doctors should be officially recognized as ‘public servants’ and that police outposts should be a requirement within municipal hospital grounds.
They argue that assaults on medical personnel breach several constitutional rights, including the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21, the right to practice any profession under Article 19(1)(g), and the right to equality before the law.
