NEW DELHI:

The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to shift the rape and murder trial of a Kolkata doctor outside West Bengal. The bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, affirmed that the trial court judge possessed adequate authority to order additional investigations if deemed necessary after evidence review.

The court reviewed the CBI’s sixth status report regarding the rape and murder case at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata but withheld comments as investigations continued, PTI reported.

The court noted that charges against the main accused, Sanjay Roy, were framed in a Kolkata court on November 4, with daily trial proceedings scheduled to commence from November 11.

The national task force (NTF), established to develop healthcare professionals’ safety protocols, presented its findings during the proceedings.

The court instructed that the NTF’s findings be distributed to all states and union territories, scheduling the next hearing in four weeks.

On October 15, the court questioned West Bengal’s government regarding civic volunteer recruitment, requesting detailed information about their selection process.

The court expressed displeasure on September 30 regarding the state’s slow progress in CCTV installation and construction of toilets and rest areas in government medical facilities, setting October 15 as the completion deadline.

On September 17, the court showed concern over the CBI status report findings but avoided details to protect the ongoing investigation.

Previously, on September 9, the court raised concerns about the missing “challan” document for the doctor’s post-mortem and requested a state government report.

On August 22, the court criticised Kolkata police for delayed case registration, describing the timeline of events as “extremely disturbing”.

The court established a 10-member NTF to create safety protocols for healthcare professionals.

The court strongly criticised the state government for delayed FIR filing and inadequate crowd control at the vandalised state facility, describing the incident as “horrific”.

The doctor’s death, with visible injury marks, triggered nationwide protests. Initial investigations led to a civic volunteer’s arrest by Kolkata police the following day.

On August 13, the Calcutta High Court transferred the investigation from Kolkata police to CBI, which began work on August 14.