Supreme Court on Bengal’s ‘no night shift’ order: Provide security to women

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Tuesday slammed the West Bengal government’s notification directing state-run hospitals to avoid allotting night shifts to women doctors, asserting that it is the state government’s duty to provide them with security.
Ordering the Bengal government to change the notification, which was issued in the wake of the brutal rape and murder of the 31-year-old trainee doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Chief Justice stated, “How can you say women cannot work at night? why limit women doctors? they don’t want a concession… women are ready to work in the same shift.”
“Sibal, you need to address this issue. The solution lies in ensuring proper security measures. West Bengal should amend the notification. It is your responsibility to provide security; you cannot restrict women from working at night. Pilots, army personnel, and others work during the nighttime hours,” the Chief Justice stated.
During the hearing, the junior doctors informed the top court that they have no problem with resuming their duties, provided that the measures, discussed in the meeting with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday, be put in place.
Doctors stated that they will have a general body meeting today to discuss returning to work.
Taking note of the Bengal government’s statement that no punitive action would be taken against the protesting doctors, the court asked the state government to file an affidavit. In response to which, senior Advocate Kapil Sibal stated that the state “will be filing the affidavit.”
The court called the findings in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) status report on the ongoing probe into the Kolkata rape and murder case “worse and disturbing.” The CBI submitted a fresh status report to the Supreme Court regarding the ongoing investigation into the RG Kar rape and murder case.
On CBI’s status report, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud stated that what the central probe agency has disclosed in the report is “worse” and expressed that the court is “very disturbed” by its findings.
The top court also directed Wikipedia to remove the name of the victim from its platform while hearing the suo motu case concerning the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The order came after the court was informed that Wikipedia had retained the name and created an artistic graphic depicting the victim, despite the ongoing investigation.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, raised concerns about how the victim’s specific hairstyle was being depicted across various platforms.
Additionally, the court ruled that it would not be appropriate to disclose the leads in the CBI probe at this stage, as doing so could disrupt the ongoing investigation.
The court emphasised, “It will not be fair to disclose the leads of CBI as this would only lead to dislocation of the investigation”.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud commented on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) status report, emphasising that disclosing the details of the ongoing investigation could “jeopardise the line of investigation.” He assured that the investigation aims to “unearth the absolute truth” and that more revelations may come to light beyond the current arrests.
“Apart from the principal, the Station House Officer (SHO) was also arrested. So let us wait,” he added.
The CBI is examining various issues, including whether the statutory challan for the postmortem was submitted correctly and if there was any tampering at the crime scene or destruction of evidence. The Chief Justice noted that it would be “unwise for us to disclose anything further” at this stage.
The Chief Justice acknowledged that the father of the victim had proposed certain leads for the investigation. “We are not making these suggestions public, but they are valuable inputs,” he stated, adding that the central probe agency should consider them. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing CBI, stated that the probe agency would accept the Chief Justice’s suggestion.
The Chief Justice also noted that the CBI is facing challenges due to a “five-day delay” in the investigation, which has limited its progress.
After reviewing a letter dated September 12, the court noted that many of the issues raised were still under investigation by the CBI, and no conclusions could be drawn at this time.