Supreme Court Dismisses Ex-RG Kar Hospital Principal Sandip Ghosh's Plea Against HC Order For CBI Probe Into Irregularities

Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora, for Ghosh, submitted that the petitioner was not objecting to the enquiry but was aggrieved with certain adverse remarks made by the High Court.

"As an accused, you have no locus to intervene in a PIL when the High Court is monitoring the investigation and transferring to the CBI/SIT...," CJI said.

She said that the objection was to the High Court's observation linking the alleged irregularities with the rape-murder of a trainee doctor on August 9.

However, refusing to accept the contention, CJI said that this was a matter of investigation. For reference, the High Court observed: "In light of the apparent nexus between the aforementioned allegations and the locus of the incident(rape-murder), and considering that the investigation in the case of XXXXX (Parents of Victim) Vs. State of West Bengal & Ors. in WPA (P) 339 of 2024 has already been entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in the interest of ensuring a comprehensive and unbiased inquiry, the investigation into the present matter ought to be similarly transferred to the CBI."

Arora submitted that the High Court's order was passed in a PIL filed by a former staff of the Hospital, Akhtar Ali, whose earlier PILs on the same issue were dismissed by the High Court.

"Where the petitions are motivated by a certain factual background, then those petitions must be taken with utmost caution and care," Arora urged. 

"We don't have to give Akhtar Ali a clean chit. These are not matters which can be disposed on a technicality that three PILs were dismissed. The High Court is in seisin. They have transferred the investigation to the CBI. At this stage, you have no locus at all. Akhtar Ali himself may be a subject of enquiry. That is a separate issue " CJI said.

"When the petition itself limits to the issue of biomedical waste, does not say about any nexus with this particular incident, could the High Court have passed the order with the observations?" Arora asked.

"The issue of biomedical waste is a trigger. And therefore the High Court wishes that this matter should be pursued to its logical conclusion. It's not necessary for us to intervene," CJI said.

"I fail to understand that the High Court comes to the conclusion about the apparent nexus," Arora asked.

"Let us not stultify the investigation. We are also asking the CBI to file status reports before us," CJI said. When Arora pressed that the observations must be expunged, CJI said these were "prima facie observations." At this juncture, Arora requested that the Court may record that these are prima facie observations as the petitioner would be prejudiced otherwise. However, the bench refused.

Arora then submitted that the CBI should only investigate so far as the biomedical waste is considered without linking it to the murder-rape incident. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju objected to the plea, saying that an accused cannot have a say on how the investigation should be carried out. "Ms.Arora, even we can't say how they should investigate," CJI said.

Ghosh was the Principal of the Hospital and College where the brutal rape and murder of a junior doctor took place on August 9. The High Court on August 13 had also transferred the investigation to CBI relating to the doctor's death.

Before the Apex Court, Ghosh contended that the investigation was transferred by the High Court without giving him an opportunity to be heard. He is aggrieved by High Court's observations apparently linking the corruption allegations against him to the incident at the hospital.

The investigation transferred is in relation to allegations by the Former Deputy Superintendent at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Akhtar Ali who moved the Calcutta High Court against former principal Dr Ghosh, alleging serious illegalities committed by the former principal.

In his plea Ali alleges that Ghosh started serious illegalities as such mismanagement of dead bodies, reselling biowaste in the open market, misutilization of public funds etc.

In the earlier hearing, the High Court had questioned why the State only initiated the SIT probe after the unfortunate incident on 9th August, when many complaints had been filed earlier.

The Supreme Court has taken a suo motu case over the rape-murder incident and has sought for status reports from the CBI and the West Bengal police.

Case : Sandip Ghosh v. State of West Bengal | Diary No. 38744-2024 

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