For two consecutive days, a Supreme Court of India's bench led by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud postponed the hearing of the tragic rape and murder incident at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The matter is now expected to be addressed on Thursday, although the timing remains uncertain.
Initially scheduled for 3 pm on Tuesday, the hearing was rescheduled to Wednesday. It was reported that the three-judge bench, comprising CJI Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra, would hear the RG Kar incident on Wednesday morning before it was postponed to 3 pm.
Reportedly, the chief justice wanted to schedule the hearing on Thursday afternoon. However, senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the Government of West Bengal, asked for the matter to be hard in the morning.
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During the hearing, the CBI was anticipated to present its status report on the ongoing investigations into the rape and murder case, as well as the financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government was expected to submit an affidavit detailing the process hiring civic volunteers in the state's police force. The prime accused in the rape and murder of the trainee doctors, Sanjay Roy, was a civic volunteer at the time of his arrest.
The state government would have also provided an update on its efforts to improve the safety and security of doctors and other staff at hospitals and medical institutions.
Meanwhile, the junior doctors, who have been protesting since the trainee doctor was found dead at RG Kar on August 9, expressed their disappointment over the consecutive postponements of the hearing, stating that it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to maintain faith in the judiciary.
"We are beginning to believe that the Supreme Court of India has failed to grasp the gravity of the situation. If not the judiciary, where else can we seek justice for Abhaya? We are losing patience now,” Dr Rumelika Kumar, a protesting junior doctor said.
