The Union government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court, accusing the West Bengal government of a “systemic malaise” and “willful non-compliance” in providing essential infrastructure and security for the central forces stationed at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
The deployment had followed an order of the apex court, which initiated proceedings on its own motion (suo motu) into the brutal rape and murder of a doctor on August 9 – an incident that has triggered national outrage and widespread student protests across the state.
The Centre’s application, filed through the Ministry of home affairs (MHA), demanded that the state extend full cooperation to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), failing which the top court ought to initiate contempt proceedings against the Mamata Banerjee government for violating the Supreme Court’s orders of August 20 and 22.
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The MHA accused the West Bengal of acting in a manner “not only contemptuous but also against all the constitutional and moral principles which the state should abide by”, adding the state was deliberately creating hurdles to frustrate the Supreme Court’s efforts towards a “solution-oriented approach”.
{{/usCountry}}The MHA accused the West Bengal of acting in a manner “not only contemptuous but also against all the constitutional and moral principles which the state should abide by”, adding the state was deliberately creating hurdles to frustrate the Supreme Court’s efforts towards a “solution-oriented approach”.
{{/usCountry}}The MHA’s plea in the Supreme Court, accusing the West Bengal government of systemic non-cooperation in providing security at RG Kar Hospital, coincides with the state government’s passage of a criminal law amendment bill aimed at introducing stricter penal provisions for crimes against women and expediting the investigation and trial process in West Bengal.
In its orders on August 20 and 22, a bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud had order CISF to secure the hospital and hostel premises while the state government indicated it had no objections. This directive was issued in the wake of a complaint by a group of doctors that after vandalism on August 14, the mob returned to the medical college and threatened women doctors, warning that they would suffer the same fate as the rape victim if they reported the incident.
The MHA’s application complained that despite repeated requests made to the Kolkata police commissioner and the state chief secretary, non-availability of accommodation, security gadgets and paucity of transportation persist, making it extremely difficult for CISF personnel to perform duties.
“The inaction of the state of West Bengal, despite repeated requests, is symptomatic of a systemic malaise wherein such non-cooperation with central agencies operating under court orders, is the norm. It is submitted that the same amounts to willful non-compliance of the orders of this Hon’ble court,” stated the application.
Maintaining that the safety of doctors and women doctors in particular, must be the top priority for the state, the MHA added that non-cooperation is not expected from a state government “in a tense situation such as the present one”.
“A state government, duly elected by the people of the state, is supposed to be fair in its conduct, especially when it concerns the security of its residents,” stated the plea, emphasising that the state, through its counsel Kapil Sibal, had earlier said it had no objection to CISF taking over the security of the hospital and hostels.
According to the Centre, the state, through its “unjustifiable and unpardonable” approach, was consciously trying to jeopardise the solution-oriented approach adopted by the Supreme Court.
“The state government is willingly not making efforts towards finding a solution to the problem and rather, is causing injustice to the residents of its own state...such willful non-compliance of the orders of this Hon’ble court on the part of a state government is not only contemptuous but it also goes against all the constitutional and moral principles which the state should abide by,” said the application.
The Centre’s plea to the Supreme Court included a request for the initiation of contempt proceedings against the officials and authorities of the West Bengal government.
According to the plea, despite repeated requests, the state government failed to provide adequate accommodation, transportation, and security gadgets necessary for the effective functioning of CISF units stationed at the hospital. The application highlighted that, following a comprehensive security survey, CISF requested the Kolkata Police and hospital administration for various logistical support, including accommodations for 184 personnel, separate accommodations for 54 female personnel, and an array of security gadgets such as hand-held metal detectors and door-frame metal detectors. However, the response from state authorities was far from adequate, the MHA alleged.
The Kolkata Police provided only a fraction of the requested vehicles and security equipment, leaving CISF personnel to operate under less-than-ideal conditions, it claimed.
The victim -- a second-year postgraduate student at the state-run hospital -- was found brutally assaulted and murdered in the seminar hall on August 9. A civic volunteer assigned to the hospital was arrested the next day in connection with the crime. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe following the August 13 order of the Calcutta high court.
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During the hearings of the case on August 20 and 22, the top court sharpy criticised the state government for its mishandling of the investigation into the brutal rape and murder of the 31-year-old doctor, stating that the conscience of the entire nation was shaken by the “horrific” and “horrendous” incident. Its criticism centred around the significant delay in lodging the first information report (FIR) on August 9 into the incident, the allegation by the parents that the hospital first told them it was a suicide, and the vandalism that occurred at the hospital five days later, raising questions about the competence of the West Bengal police in safeguarding medical professionals. Simultaneously, the court implored stirring doctors at the hospital and across the country to resume work.