Doctor rape-murder: Centre moves SC, alleges non-cooperation by WB govt

The Centre on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court alleging "unpardonable" non-cooperation by the West Bengal government in providing logistical support to the CISF, tasked with providing security at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, where a trainee doctor was raped and murdered.

Terming the alleged non-cooperation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government as an example "symptomatic of a systemic malaise", the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a direction to West Bengal authorities to extend full cooperation to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

In case of their failure to do so, the Centre urged the apex court to initiate contempt proceedings against the state government officials concerned for wilful non-compliance of the court orders.

 

On August 20, the apex court had termed the rape and murder case of a medic at the hospital as "horrific" and issued a slew of directions including setting up of a 10-member National Task Force to formulate a protocol for ensuring the safety and security of doctors and other health care professionals.

Besides, the top court had taken a serious note of mob violence in the hospital and the allegation that the Kolkata police fled the scene, and ordered deployment of CISF at the hospital to enable doctors to resume work.

In an application filed in the case the apex court has initiated on its own, the MHA said the plea "concerns the deployment of CISF personnel at the R G Kar Medical College, including the hostels where the resident doctors are staying to ensure their safety".

"The CISF personnel deployed at R G Kar Hospital are facing severe difficulties due to lack of accommodation and lack of basic security infrastructure. The troops are presently staying at CISF Unit SMP, Kolkata despite the constraints being faced by the accommodating unit," it said.

The application said the travel time from Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP), Kolkata to the hospital was an hour from one side and it was difficult to discharge duties effectively and to mobilise CISF troops to duly and promptly respond during contingencies.

It said the MHA had taken up the matter with the chief secretary of West Bengal through a September 2 letter requesting for adequate logistical arrangement and security gadgets required by the force.

"It is submitted that thereafter, there has been no response from the state government to ensure adequate support to the CISF personnels which are deployed to ensure security of the residents/workers in the RG Kar Medical Hospital under the orders of this court," the application said.

It said such non-cooperation was not expected from a state government in a tense situation as the present one. The safety of doctors, women doctors in particular, must be the top priority for the state, the application said.

"It is submitted that 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 wilful non-compliance of the orders of this court," the application said.

It said a state government, duly elected by the people, is supposed to be fair in its conduct, especially when it concerns the security of its residents.

"It is further submitted that such wilful non-compliance of the orders of this 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," it said.

The application claimed that such a course of action has been adopted by the state to "willingly create hurdles" and to jeopardise the larger solution-oriented approach adopted by the apex court.

It alleged the state was willingly not making efforts towards finding a solution to the problem and was causing injustice to its residents.

"It is submitted that due to the unexpected, unjustifiable and unpardonable acts of the state government explained above, the present applicant is constrained to approach this court since it would be in interest of justice to all that the state government extends cooperation to CISF, so that its personnel are able to perform their duty without any inconvenience," it said.

The application referred to non-availability of adequate accommodation, security gadgets, and paucity of transportation facilities, and said CISF personnel were facing a lot of difficulties in performing their duties, especially the lady contingent.

While hearing the matter on August 22, the top court had torn into the Kolkata police over the delay in registering the unnatural death of the woman doctor, who was raped and killed at the hospital, calling it "extremely disturbing", and questioned the sequence of events and the timing of the procedural formalities.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud is scheduled to hear the case on September 5.

The murder and alleged rape of the junior doctor inside a seminar hall of the state-run hospital has sparked nationwide protests.

The medic's body with severe injury marks was found inside 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.

On August 13, the Calcutta High Court ordered transferred the probe from the Kolkata Police to the CBI, which started its investigation on August 14.