SC dismisses RG Kar ex-principal's plea challenging HC order

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed former principal of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital Sandip Ghosh’s petition against the Calcutta High Court order rejecting his plea to be heard in a PIL alleging financial irregularities at the institute during his tenure.

"You were the principal of the college when the incident took place. The high court has not commented on corruption or the crime. As an accused, you have no locus (standi) to intervene in a PIL when the High Court is monitoring the investigation and transferring to the CBI," a three-judge Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud told senior advocate Meenaakshi Arora, who represented Ghosh.

Arora said she was not against the probe but was aggrieved by certain adverse remarks made by the high court linking the alleged irregularities with the rape-murder of a trainee doctor on the hospital campus.

As she said the PIL filed by Akhtar Ali -- a former Deputy Superintendent of the RG Kar Hospital – was motivated, the Bench said, "We don't have to give Akhtar Ali a clean chit. These are not matters which can be disposed of on a technicality that three PILs were dismissed. The High Court has transferred the investigation to the CBI. At this stage, you have no locus (standi) at all. Akhtar Ali himself may be a subject of inquiry.”

Facing a CBI probe for alleged financial irregularities during his tenure, Ghosh had moved the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court order dismissing his plea to be added as a party to a petition on the issue.

The high court had on August 23 transferred the probe into alleged financial irregularities from a Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the state government to the CBI.

Ghosh had contended that the investigation was transferred by the High Court without giving him an opportunity to present his side.

The high court's August 23 order had come on a petition by Ali, who had requested a probe by the Enforcement Directorate into alleged financial misconduct at the hospital during the tenure of Ghosh. The high court had also dismissed Ghosh's plea to be added as a party in the petition, holding that he was not a "necessary party" in the matter.

The murder and rape of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, has triggered nationwide protests, particularly West Bengal, where many protesters are demanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation.

A badly injured body of the post-graduate trainee doctor was found in the seminar room of the RG Kar Hospital, Kolkata on August 9. The Kolkata Police initially registered a case of unnatural death and arrested Sanjay Roy -- a civic volunteer the next day. However, acting on a petition filed by the victim’s parents, the Calcutta High Court on August 13 transferred the probe to the CBI, expressing dissatisfaction over the investigation conducted by the Kolkata Police. The CBI has questioned Ghosh and arrested him in a corruption case.