The Calcutta High Court on Thursday (February 6, 2025) said it would ‘strictly supervise’ the proceedings before the special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at Alipore concerning the framing of charges in the case of alleged financial irregularities at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH).
Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RGKMCH, charged with allegations of corruption and financial malpractice at the institution during his tenure, and other accused moved a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Subhendu Samanta.
Notably, Mr. Ghosh’s tenure ended soon after outrage erupted nationwide over the rape and murder of a female doctor on duty on the RGKMCH premises in August 2024.
In his appeal, he sought postponement of the framing of charges in the financial irregularities case by the CBI. His counsel alleged before the Division Bench that the investigating agency supplied 25,000 pages worth of documents on February 1, but did not leave them enough time to peruse the documents for a response that had to be given by February 4.
“We do not want a situation where justice hurried is justice buried, but at the same time, we will keep the proceedings under our strict supervision,” the Bench said.
The High Court on Thursday (February 6, 2025) added that due process of law must be adhered to, and as such, the accused need to be given sufficient time before the charges were framed in the case, despite the need for a fast-tracked trial.
Discharge petitions
The Bench proposed that the matter be taken up for framing of charges in a week. The court said that if any discharge petitions were filed, those would be heard before the special CBI court on that day itself, and consequently, the matter would be heard and disposed of within seven days.
The court also proposed that the trial begin soon and that the onus to give a trial timeline after the framing of charges would be on the CBI.
Mr. Ghosh and the other accused had moved the Division Bench to challenge a Single Bench order of the High Court that declined their appeal for more time before the charges were framed in the case.
Mr. Ghosh and four other accused named in the CBI chargesheet in the financial irregularities case are currently in judicial custody. Three of them, excluding Mr. Ghosh, have filed discharge petitions.
