New Delhi: Former principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital Sandip Ghosh has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Calcutta High Court order dismissing his plea to be added as a party to a petition alleging financial irregularities at the institute during his tenure.
The high court August 23 ordered the transfer of the probe into the alleged financial irregularities from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The murder and alleged rape of a junior doctor at the state-run hospital has sparked nationwide protests.
The medic’s body with severe injury marks was found in the seminar hall of the hospital’s chest department on August 9. A civic volunteer was arrested by the Kolkata Police in connection with the case the following day.
The high court’s August 23 order had come on a petition by a former deputy superintendent of the facility, Akhtar Ali, who had requested a probe by the Enforcement Directorate into alleged financial misconduct at the hospital during Ghosh’s tenure.
The high court had also dismissed Ghosh’s plea to be added as a party in the petition, holding that he was not a “necessary party” in the matter.
It had noted in its order, “In light of the apparent nexus between the aforementioned allegations and the locus of the incident, and considering that the investigation in the case (of murder and rape)… has already been entrusted to the CBI, in the interest of ensuring a comprehensive and unbiased inquiry, the investigation into the present matter ought to be similarly transferred to the CBI.”
On September 2, the CBI arrested Ghosh and three others in connection with the alleged financial misconduct at the establishment.
Ghosh, through his advocate Siddhartha Chowdhury, has approached the apex court against the high court’s August 23 order.
As per the cause list of September 6 uploaded on the apex court website, his plea is slated to come up for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud.
Before the high court, the ex-principal’s lawyer had prayed for being given an opportunity to defend his client since serious allegations had been levelled against him by the former deputy superintendent.
On August 20, the apex court termed the rape and murder case of the medic at the hospital “horrific” and issued a slew of directions, including the setting up of a 10-member National Task Force to formulate a protocol for ensuring the safety and security of doctors and other healthcare professionals.
PTI