RG Kar Case: Supreme Court Issues Notice On Former Principal Sandip Ghosh’s Bail Plea
Ghosh has been in jail for nearly two years in connection with the case since his arrest after complaints of irregularities in procurements at the Hospital.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the CBI on bail application filed by former principal of RG Kar Hospital Sandip Ghosh, accused of financial irregularities and corruption.
A Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale has sought the investigating agency’s response by October 15. Ghosh has approached SC after Calcutta HC dismissed his bail plea.
Ghosh has been in jail for nearly two years in connection with the case since his arrest after complaints of irregularities in procurements at the Hospital.
Notably, in 2024 the Supreme Court had dismissed the plea moved by Ghosh against the Calcutta High Court's decision to transfer a case against him involving financial irregularities to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Earlier the Calcutta High Court had ordered the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Kolkata Police to transfer its case involving financial irregularities against Ghosh, to the CBI.
The single judge bench of Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj had passed the impugned order in a petition filed by former Deputy Superintendent Akhtar Ali of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital alleging serious financial misconduct by Dr. Ghosh at the hospital during his tenure as Principal.
The investigation into Ghosh began after a four-member SIT was formed to look into the alleged financial misconduct at the state-run health facility, where the body of a postgraduate trainee doctor was discovered on August 9, 2024.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Ghosh, who resigned from his post as principal on August 12 citing "moral responsibility" following the August 9 incident, was promptly appointed as the principal of another medical college in Kolkata.
Ghosh has been interrogated by the CBI as part of its investigation into the rape and murder of the doctor, an incident that has led to nationwide protests and prompted Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance of the matter.
In related news, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari earlier this month ordered a fresh investigation into the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, marking the second anniversary of a crime that had once brought the entire state to a standstill. The announcement came at a memorial event attended by the victim's family, doctors, and senior officials, and it reopens a case many believed had been settled with a conviction and life sentence.
Adhikari said the decision to reinvestigate was taken after the victim's mother, Ratna Debnath, now a BJP MLA, wrote to him seeking a fresh probe. "Ratna Debnath had written to me, requesting a fresh investigation. After extensive discussions with the chief secretary and a team of experts, I am announcing a fresh investigation under the Special Commission Act, 1952," he said. The Chief Minister did not mince words about the earlier investigation either, alleging that the police had failed to perform their duty in the case.
Last year, the Supreme Court had transferred the suo motu proceedings relating to the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Hospital to the Calcutta High Court, directing it to monitor the implementation of the orders passed in the case. The Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma held that the High Court was best placed to oversee compliance with directions already issued, given its proximity to the facts, authorities, and ongoing developments linked to the case.