Kolkata rape and murder case | “We are here,” Supreme Court assures doctors; sets up National Task Force

In Re: Alleged rape and murder incident of a trainee doctor in R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata and related issues | Day 1

Today, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra set-up a nine-member National Task Force to create a national protocol for the safety of doctors and medical professionals around the country. The bench also made an open appeal to the protesting doctors across the country to resume work and assured them that the Court would ensure their safety at the workplace. 

The Court’s decision comes in the aftermath of the rape and murder of a woman resident doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College, Kolkata on 9 August 2024. The Court took suo motu cognisance of the incident on 18 August 2024 despite the matter pending before the Calcutta High Court. In the meantime the incident is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) per the High Court’s directions.

Widespread protests were held by doctors’ associations, student bodies, and civic groups across the country in the wake of the incident, including a ‘Reclaim the Night’ campaign in Kolkata on 14 August 2024. As part of this, a protest was underway at the R.G. Kar Medical College Hospital at 12:30 am on August 15, when a large mob assembled at the premises, vandalising the Emergency Ward and other critical services of the hospital.

Today, the bench noted that they were “deeply concerned” about the safety of doctors and medical professionals in the country. They stated that they were shocked that the name, pictures and videos of the doctor who was raped and murdered were shared in public domain, despite judgements that upheld the victim’s right to privacy. Present in Court were a battery of lawyers including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the CBI, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal for the State of West Bengal, Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh for an association of practising doctors and Senior Advocate Manninder Singh for the Indian Medical Association. 

Systemic issues concerning the safety of doctors

The bench stated that they had taken up the case suo motu, despite seasoned judges at the High Court already dealing with the matter, because it concerned the larger question of safety of members in the medical profession at large. “We are deeply concerned that there is a virtual absence of safe conditions of work for doctors in public hospitals,” the Chief said. 

Emphasising that the country’s conscience could not be awakened only when there is a rape or murder, the bench stated that an enforceable protocol for the safety of doctors was necessary. The Kolkata incident, they said, “raises systemic issues about the safety of doctors across India.” 

The Order of the Court details a non-exhaustive list of safety issues plaguing members of the medical profession today. This includes: 

1. The lack of adequate resting spaces for doctors on night shifts, including the lack of separate rooms for male and female doctors
2. Lack of basic sanitation needs for interns and staff who are on work-shifts spanning over 36 hours
3. Lack of security personnel in medical units
4. Insufficient toilets on hospital premises
5. No transportation facilities for doctors and staff who reside far from the hospitals
6. Absence or lack of properly functioning CCTV cameras in hospitals
7. Unrestricted access to patients and attendants to all areas of the hospital
8. Lack of screening for arms at hospital entrances
9. Ill-lit areas in hospitals
10. Lack of supportive facilities, training and communication to doctors who play the dual role of medical professionals and ‘emotional support givers’ and 
11. Higher risk of violence in areas such as ICUs in hospitals

The delay in filing the FIR 

The bench came down heavily on the West Bengal government and the hospital management for not taking immediate action and for delaying filing a First Information Report (FIR). The crime was detected early in the morning, and an FIR was filed only late that night. The bench also noted that the Principal of the medical college attempted to pass off the incident as a suicide and suppress the matter. “What was the Principal doing?” the Chief asked. 

Sibal informed that bench that an Unnatural Death Investigation (UDI) report was filed and that the perpetrator of the crime was identified as a civic worker at the hospital and had been caught. He also told the judges that a board was set up to investigate the matter immediately. He further stated that the body of the doctor underwent autopsy and post-mortem between 2 and 4:45 pm. The bench appeared unconvinced. Justice Pardiwala remarked that an UDI was not an FIR. The Chief observed that even if the autopsy and post-mortem was conducted between the stated time, it did not explain why the FIR was filed only at 11:45 pm. 

The bench also pointed out that the body was handed over to the parents for cremation at 8:45 pm and the FIR was not filed for over three hours after that. Sibal responded that the parents were in shock and had told the police to do “whatever they wanted”. The FIR, he said, was filed only at 11:45 pm. The bench reminded him that the duty of filing an FIR fell squarely on the hospital management and not the parents who were not present during the time of the crime.

“What was the police doing?” 

The bench also pulled up the West Bengal police for their inaction to curb the vandalism of the hospital by a mob after the incident had occurred and when the doctors were exercising their right to peaceful protest the next day. “The hospital is the crime scene…the first thing they have to do is protect the crime scene…what were they doing?” the Chief remarked. 

“We are unable to comprehend how the State was not prepared to deal with the incident of vandalization of the premises of the hospital,” the Order of the Court said. 

Mehta also added that the police’s failure to curtail the mob was indicative of a systemic failure of law and order in the state. “There has been a complete failure of law and order mechanism. 7000 people in the middle of the night with lathis and hockey [sticks] can never gather without the consent of the police force,” he said.

A National Task Force

The bench set up a nine-member National Task Force to formulate protocols governing the safety of medical professionals. “We have, in this backdrop, formed the view that a national consensus must be evolved,” the Court’s Order said. 

The members of the Task Force are: 

1. Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, AVSM, VSM, Director General, Medical Services (Navy)
2. Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology and AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad
3. Dr M Srinivas, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi
4. Dr Pratima Murthy, Director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru
5. Dr Goverdhan Dutt Puri, Executive Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur
6. Dr Saumitra Rawat, Chairperson, Institute of Surgical Gastroenterology, GI and HPB Onco-Surgery and Liver Transplantation and Member, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi; Member, Court of Examiners, Royal College of Surgeons, England
7. Professor Anita Saxena, Vice-Chancellor, Pandit B D Sharma Medical University, Rohtak. Formerly Dean of Academics, Chief- Cardiothoracic Centre and Head Cardiology Department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi
8. Dr Pallavi Saple, Dean, Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Mumbai and
9. Dr Padma Srivastava, formerly Professor at the Department of Neurology, AIIMS Delhi. Currently serving as the Chairperson of Neurology at Paras Health Gurugram.

The Court also made the Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary, Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Chairperson of the National Medical Commission and the President of the National Board of Examinations ex-officio members of the National Task Force to assist the panel. 

The Task Force’s job is to “formulate effective recommendations to remedy the issues of concern pertaining to safety, working conditions and well-being of medical professionals…” 

The Court directed the National Task Force to recommend suggestions focused on: 

1. Preventing violence, including gender based violence against medical professionals; 
2. Providing an enforceable national protocol for dignified and safe working conditions for interns, residents, senior residents, doctors, nurses and all medical professionals.

An appeal to the medical community

“We are here,” the Court assured the medical community and appealed to all the doctors and medical professionals who have refused to resume work (except emergency services) as a sign of protest across the country to resume services. “We are here to ensure that their safety and protection is of the highest concern…,” the Chief Justice said. 

The bench noted that several patients book appointments months in advance and not having access to medical professionals could severely impact them. 

Towards the end of the hearings, Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh appearing for an association of practising doctors informed the bench that the doctors were afraid to return to work. Specifically, women doctors of the R.G. Kar Hospital, she said, had received sexual threats against reporting on the incident. She stated that the police who were meant to protect the peaceful protestors themselves hid from the mob and refused to take action. Out of the 700 resident doctors in the R.G. Kar Medical College, only about 30-40 women and 60-70 men remained, the rest had fled due to security concerns. 

The bench asked the West Bengal government how they would ensure protection to the doctors who returned to work. While Sibal assured the Court that the Kolkata Police would offer protection to the women and men of the R.G. Kar Hospital, Justice Pardiwala asked: How would this police force, who had themselves fled during the mob violence, offer any protection? Mehta suggested that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) be given that responsibility rather than the local West Bengal Police. The bench agreed.

Further, the bench noted that if doctors returned to work in R.G. Kar, it would send a positive message to doctors elsewhere. 

The CISF security was also extended to a doctor who registered a complaint against the violence instigated by the mob after the incident. 

Directions of the bench

Given the gravity of the issue, the Court directed the National Task Force to submit its interim report within three weeks and a final report within two months. The Court also directed the CBI to file a status report of its investigation of the incident and the West Bengal government to file its report on the vandalism by the mob by 22 August 2024. 

Further, the Court also directed all states and Union Territories to collate information from all government-run hospitals about various safety protocols. The Union government is to compile this data in a tabular form and submit it to the Court within a month. Read the Court’s full Order here. 

The case will be heard again on Thursday, 22 August 2024.