Supreme Court Declines Plea From Former Kolkata Medical College Principal Challenging CBI Probe

On Friday, the Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea from Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, who sought to challenge the CBI’s investigation into alleged financial irregularities at the institute during his tenure. This decision came in the wake of a woman’s rape and murder at the hospital last month.

Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, leading a bench that included Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, ruled that Ghosh, as an accused, lacked the standing to intervene in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) proceedings. The Calcutta High Court is already overseeing the investigation and has entrusted the CBI with the probe.

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Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, representing Ghosh, argued that the Supreme Court petition did not contest the CBI investigation into the financial irregularities but challenged its connection to the rape and murder case. She contended that adverse observations made by the Calcutta High Court could unfairly prejudice Ghosh and sought their expungement.

Rape and Murder Allegations

The bench, however, noted that both aspects—the financial irregularities and the rape and murder allegations—are subjects of ongoing investigation. “Both aspects are a matter of investigation,” the bench stated, emphasizing that it could not limit the scope of the CBI’s inquiry.

Arora argued that there was no direct link between the alleged mishandling of biomedical waste and the rape and murder case, and claimed that the CBI’s focus on these matters might cause serious prejudice to Ghosh. She also pointed out that the Calcutta High Court had dismissed similar petitions in the past.

The Supreme Court clarified that the Calcutta High Court had only made “prima facie” observations and that the issue of biomedical waste had acted as a “trigger” for the investigation. “We cannot order CBI to investigate only this and nothing else, which could be likely an offence,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said, underscoring that the court would not obstruct the CBI probe.

Financial Misconduct

Ghosh’s special leave petition challenged an August 23 order from the Calcutta High Court, which directed the CBI to investigate alleged financial misconduct during his tenure as principal. Complaints against Ghosh included awarding contracts without proper approvals, outsourcing hospital infrastructure tasks inappropriately, and selling biomedical waste, including organs from unidentified bodies.

Following a petition by whistleblower Akhtar Ali, a former deputy medical superintendent at R.G. Kar, Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj of the Calcutta High Court mandated a court-monitored CBI inquiry. Ghosh’s appeal to a division bench of Justices Harish Tandon and Hiranmay Bhattacharya was unsuccessful, leading him to approach the Supreme Court.

In response to the high court’s order, the CBI conducted raids across Kolkata. A special court in Kolkata has since remanded Ghosh to eight days of CBI custody. The central agency is conducting parallel investigations into both the financial irregularities and the rape and murder cases, with court supervision.