Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday (February 6) said that reasonable time needs to be given to former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh, who is an accused, before charges are framed in a financial irregularities case at the hospital during his tenure.
Ghosh, who is currently lodged in judicial custody in the alleged financial irregularities case, was principal of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital when an on-duty woman doctor was raped and murdered in the seminar room of the hospital on August 9 last year triggering outrage across the country.
Ghosh challenged a single bench order rejecting his plea for postponement of framing of charges
A division bench was hearing an appeal moved by Ghosh against a single bench order dismissing his plea seeking to postpone framing of charges in the alleged financial irregularities case at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital during his tenure.
While trial needs to be fast-tracked, due process of law must also be followed: Division bench
The division bench, while hearing Ghosh’s appeal, said that while the trial needs to be fast-tracked, due process of law must also be followed and that every accused person has a right to go through the due process of law and the right of the accused to prepare a defence also needs to be examined.
What did the division bench propose?
The bench told the counsel that it does not have the privilege of dilating proceedings before the trial court and proposed that the accused may get a time of one week to go through the documents for filing a discharge petition, if the accused so wishes. It further said that it will monitor the proceedings before the trial court at Alipore, so that the discharge petitions filed by accused are heard within seven days of being taken up by it.
Would like counsels to discuss with ASG for working out a reasonable and just time frame for constitution of charges: HC
The division bench further said that it would like the counsels representing the accused persons to discuss with the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) representing the CBI for working out a reasonable and just time frame for the constitution of charges in the case, news agency PTI reported.
The division bench proposed that the matter be taken up for constitution of charges seven days hence and if any discharge petition is filed, it will be heard on that day before the trial court and the matter will be heard and disposed of within seven days thereof and charges will be framed before the trial court in the event the discharge petitions are dismissed.
