Calcutta High Court judge declines to hear new petition on RG Kar incident

Kolkata, Aug 28 (IANS) A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday declined to hear a petition seeking further investigation into the rape and murder of a female doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh said that since the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the case's sole convict, Sanjay Roy, have already filed appeals in the High Court and a division bench is hearing these, the new petition must be heard by the said division bench instead of a single bench.

On Wednesday, Justice Ghosh had directed the RG Kar victim's family's lawyer, Phiroze Edulji, to consult the family and inform the court about their decision. On Thursday, the lawyer said that since all the cases are pending before a division bench headed by Justice Debangshu Basak, they have no objection to the hearing of this case there. After that, Justice Ghosh announced that he would drop the case.

JusticeGhosh said that he is sending the documents of this new petition, demanding a fresh investigation into the matter, filed by the family of the deceased, to the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court. The two cases in the RG Kar incident are still pending before a division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak. This new petition by the victim's family was filed in December last year.

On August 9 last year, the body of a post-graduate trainee was recovered from the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The incident had sent shockwaves across the country and beyond, resulting in widespread sustained protest movements by doctors, common people and even women members of households. The main accused, civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy, was convicted of the crime and sentenced to life imprisonment, which he is, at present, serving in jail.

--IANS

sch/vd