The Supreme Court on Wednesday made it clear that it cannot issue sweeping protective orders for doctors who have been protesting after the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma said any direction shielding doctors from police action would amount to interfering with the powers of law enforcement.
The judges said the court was not inclined to handle the matter in fragments and suggested that the proceedings be shifted to the Calcutta High Court for effective monitoring.
The bench asked, almost rhetorically, how the Supreme Court could oversee protests happening hundreds of kilometres away. “It is easier for the Calcutta High Court to monitor protests. Is it possible for us to monitor the protests in Kolkata sitting in Delhi? How can we pass blanket orders protecting doctors? The police has a right to call you,” the court said.
Senior advocate Karuna Nundy, representing the Association of junior and senior doctors, told the court that many protesting doctors were repeatedly called for questioning, causing harassment and intimidation. She sought directions preventing the police from summoning them arbitrarily.
The court asked her to provide a detailed table listing related matters pending before the Calcutta High Court. The case will now be taken up after the Supreme Court’s winter break.
The protests stem from the horrific rape and murder of a trainee doctor whose body was found in a seminar room at RG Kar Medical College on August 9 last year. The next day, police arrested Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer.
On January 20, a Kolkata trial court convicted Roy and sentenced him to imprisonment “till death”. The crime sparked nationwide outrage, prolonged demonstrations by medical professionals, and widespread demands for stronger protection for healthcare workers.
Initially handled by Kolkata police, the investigation was shifted to the CBI on August 13 after the Calcutta High Court expressed dissatisfaction with the local probe. The Supreme Court then took suo motu cognisance and assumed supervisory control on August 19, 2024.
While monitoring the wider systemic issues, the Supreme Court had set up a National Task Force on August 20 last year to recommend ways to enhance safety for medical professionals.
The NTF’s report, submitted in November and included in the Centre’s affidavit, concluded that a separate central law on violence against healthcare workers was not necessary. It said existing state laws, along with provisions in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, were adequate to address both minor and serious offences.
The task force noted that 24 states have enacted laws to protect healthcare workers and that many already define “medical professionals” and “health care institutions” in their statutes.
The matter will return to the Supreme Court’s docket after the winter vacation, though the bench indicated strongly that further proceedings may be shifted to the Calcutta High Court.
