KOLKATA: The outgoing principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was ordered to go on leave from Tuesday after Calcutta high court expressed astonishment at the Bengal govt rehabilitating him as Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital principal “within four hours” of his resignation the previous day.
“Let him be at home,” Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam said, telling the state govt that Sandip Ghosh couldn’t be made principal of another state-run teaching hospital till the court resumed hearing a batch of PILs linked to the rape-murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar.
“If the principal stood down taking moral responsibility, why should he be rewarded? No man is above the law,” said Chief Justice Sivagnanam, who was hearing the petitions along with Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya. He questioned if Ghosh was “such a powerful person that (he) stepped down and was rewarded within four hours with another position”.
“He (Ghosh) is virtually the guardian of the doctors who are working there (at RG Kar) and, if he does not show any sympathy or empathy, then who else will?” the CJ told the state govt’s counsel Amitesh Banerjee. “Your client should not be working anywhere… We give him an option to submit his leave application today by 3 pm, failing which an order will be passed,” the court said, also asking for his resignation letter and the health department’s order appointing him principal of another institute.
Ghosh applied for a fortnight’s leave soon after, which the health department approved immediately. The division bench will next hear the PILs three weeks later.
BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari’s lawyer drew the court’s attention to Ghosh’s alleged attempt at what he said was “victim-blaming”. The bench noted that the outgoing principal not filing a formal complaint regarding the rape-murder was shocking, leading police to initially register a case of “unnatural death”. “It is not like you found the body on the roadside. The superintendent or the principal could have been the complainant,” it said.
The bench also noted that the assistant superintendent of RG Kar called the victim’s family twice – first saying she had taken ill and, in the second instance, allegedly declaring she died by suicide.
“It is rather disheartening to know that the hospital administration, more particularly (former) principal Ghosh, was not proactive… It is difficult to comprehend (why) the state govt did not exercise two options that were available. The least that was expected from a responsible authority was to immediately relieve the principal of his duties and not assign him any other duty of equal responsibility,” the bench said.
“Let him be at home,” Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam said, telling the state govt that Sandip Ghosh couldn’t be made principal of another state-run teaching hospital till the court resumed hearing a batch of PILs linked to the rape-murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar.
“If the principal stood down taking moral responsibility, why should he be rewarded? No man is above the law,” said Chief Justice Sivagnanam, who was hearing the petitions along with Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya. He questioned if Ghosh was “such a powerful person that (he) stepped down and was rewarded within four hours with another position”.
“He (Ghosh) is virtually the guardian of the doctors who are working there (at RG Kar) and, if he does not show any sympathy or empathy, then who else will?” the CJ told the state govt’s counsel Amitesh Banerjee. “Your client should not be working anywhere… We give him an option to submit his leave application today by 3 pm, failing which an order will be passed,” the court said, also asking for his resignation letter and the health department’s order appointing him principal of another institute.
Ghosh applied for a fortnight’s leave soon after, which the health department approved immediately. The division bench will next hear the PILs three weeks later.
BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari’s lawyer drew the court’s attention to Ghosh’s alleged attempt at what he said was “victim-blaming”. The bench noted that the outgoing principal not filing a formal complaint regarding the rape-murder was shocking, leading police to initially register a case of “unnatural death”. “It is not like you found the body on the roadside. The superintendent or the principal could have been the complainant,” it said.
The bench also noted that the assistant superintendent of RG Kar called the victim’s family twice – first saying she had taken ill and, in the second instance, allegedly declaring she died by suicide.
“It is rather disheartening to know that the hospital administration, more particularly (former) principal Ghosh, was not proactive… It is difficult to comprehend (why) the state govt did not exercise two options that were available. The least that was expected from a responsible authority was to immediately relieve the principal of his duties and not assign him any other duty of equal responsibility,” the bench said.
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