The Supreme Court on Wednesday cited paucity of time
and deferred to January 29 the hearing on the suo-motu case over the rape and
murder of a trainee doctor at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in
Kolkata.
On January 20, a Kolkata trial court awarded convict
Sanjay Roy "life term imprisonment till death" in the case.
The suo-motu (on its own) plea was set to be heard
by the top court for the first time after the sentencing in the doctor's rape
and murder which took place on August 9 last year.
The heinous crime triggered nationwide outrage and
prolonged protests in West Bengal.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and
Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan on Wednesday said there was paucity
of time, and moreover, three fresh applications were filed in the case.
"We will take it up at 2 pm on next
Wednesday," the CJI said.
Senior advocate Karuna Nandy, representing the
Association of Junior and Senior Doctors, mentioned the plea for hearing.
On December 10 last year, the top court took note of
the CBI's latest status report and expressed confidence that the trial in the
case was likely to conclude within in a month.
The CBI had informed about the day-to-day -- Monday
to Thursday -- trial at a special CBI Court in Sealdah.
The bench had also directed the parties to share
their recommendations and suggestions on preventing gender-based violence and
developing safety protocols for doctors and medical staff at hospitals across
the nation with the court-appointed national task force (NTF).
The bench directed the NTF to file a report and
said, "All recommendations and suggestions be sent to the National Task
force and a reply be filed by the states and UTs (union territories) to the
last report of the NTF." The body of the post-graduate trainee doctor
was found in the hospital's seminar room on August 9, last year following which
the Kolkata police arrested civic volunteer Roy the next day in connection with
the crime.
While taking a suo motu notice of the case, the
bench constituted the NTF on August 20 to formulate a protocol to ensure safety
and security of medical professionals in the wake of the crime.
In November last year, the NTF in its report -- part
of the Central government's affidavit -- said a separate central law to deal
with offences against health care professionals was not required.
The panel said the state laws had adequate
provisions to address minor offences besides serious ones under the Bharatiya
Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
In a slew of recommendations, the NTF said 24 states
had enacted laws to address violence against health care professionals while
defining the terms "health care institutions" and "medical
professionals".
The bench then said the case would be next heard in
the week commencing March 17, 2025, but said the parties could seek an early
hearing if the rape and murder case trial was delayed or an urgency.
Initially investigated by the Kolkata police, the
case was transferred to the CBI on August 13 after the Calcutta High Court
expressed dissatisfaction over the former's investigation.
The top court subsequently assumed oversight of the
matter on August 19, 2024.
Roy was chargesheeted by CBI in October last year.