RG Kar case: Calcutta HC CJ recuses from hearing PIL against ex-Kolkata police chief

The case, which the division bench of the chief justice and justice Chaitali Chatterjee was scheduled to hear, will be reassigned to another bench

Kolkata: Calcutta high court chief justice T S Sivagnanam recused himself on Thursday from hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought action against former Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal for revealing the name of the RG Kar hospital rape victim, lawyers who were present in court said.

Social activists protest outside the Civil and Criminal Court, Sealdah as court pronounced accused Sanjay Roy (not in picture) guilty of rape-murder of on-duty PGT doctor at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata, India, in January (HT Photo)

The case, which the division bench of the chief justice and justice Chaitali Chatterjee was scheduled to hear, will be reassigned to another bench, court officials said.

Filed last year, the petition accused Goyal of disclosing the name and identity of the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024.

Goyal allegedly mentioned the victim’s identity while briefing the media, which is a violation of the Supreme Court directives to protect the privacy of rape victims. The PIL has sought registration of criminal charges against Goyal.

The Kolkata police arrested Sanjay Roy, a 34-year-old civic volunteer who worked for the city police, on August 10, 2024. However, junior doctors at all state-run hospitals began a cease work in protest, accusing the state administration and the police of not taking adequate steps.

Last month, Roy was sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court.

CBI has also arrested Sandip Ghosh, former principal of the medical college and Abhijit Mondal, former officer-in-charge of Tala police station on September 14 on charges of tampering with evidence.

On September 20, the Chief Justice of India’s bench took over the hearing through a suo motu petition.

Since the PIL against Goyal was linked to the Supreme Court hearing, the issue of jurisdiction was raised by the high court chief justice.

On December 10, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna clarified that the Supreme Court would not intervene in the PIL. “The matter pertaining to Vineet Goyal is sub judice in the high court, and we see no reason to hear it separately,” the CJI said.

After the PIL was filed, justice Sivagnanam directed the Union department of personnel and training (DoPT) to be included as a party since Goyal was a serving Indian Police Service (IPS) officer.

Following the high court’s directive, DoPT filed an affidavit stating that the Bengal government had the authority to take action against Goyal since he was serving with the state government.