Calcutta HC dismisses Govt plea in RG Kar Doctors' Transfer Case

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by the West Bengal government seeking to transfer the hearing on the transfer of three doctors who led the RG Kar rape-murder case protests. The court also barred the government from taking any coercive action against them until the matter is heard, the sources said.

Single bench judge Justice Biswajit Basu, after hearing the argument and counterargument, said Mahato's case is to be heard in his chamber and not at any state civil service tribunal.

According to a UNI report, the state government had sought that since Mahato is a government employee and the state exchequer pays his salary, his plea against the transfer be heard at a state tribunal.

The court also had asked the government to give in writing as to why these doctors were not given their desired postings.

Also Read:Transfer of 3 RG Kar Doctors: Calcutta HC seeks Govt's response

Besides Mahato, two other medics, Debasish Haldar and Asfaqullah Naiya, also moved the Calcutta High Court seeking judicial intervention after they were transferred far off, denying them to have their choices which were assured during counselling.

The Calcutta High Court had sought a response from the government on whether the matter about the posting of three junior doctors of RG Kar Hospital should be heard by the High Court or the state tribunal.

Mahato, Haldar and Naiya were the faces of the intense protests after a senior woman resident doctor was found raped and murdered inside the RG Kar Hospital on August 9 last year.

Mahato told the court that as a postgraduate student, his position as the resident doctor was not a permanent appointment and was just a contractual arrangement, and hence, he did not come under the purview of permanent employment obligations, reports UNI.

Justice Basu also observed that in the future, the state government should think before taking such a decision.

Also Read:Punishment Posting: Doctors who led RG Kar Protest transferred to remote areas