Supreme Court Refers Doctors' Protest Case to Calcutta High Court, Denies Broad Immunity

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to issue any "blanket orders" protecting doctors who have been protesting in the aftermath of the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. A bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma observed that such orders would interfere with the police’s authority to investigate and maintain law and order. Instead, the Court indicated that the matter should be transferred to the Calcutta High Court, which is better placed to monitor ongoing protests in the city.

“We are grappling with so many things and there is no end to this,” the bench remarked, highlighting the logistical challenges of monitoring protests in Kolkata from Delhi. “How can we pass blanket orders protecting doctors? The police has a right to call you,” the Justices said orally during the hearing. The Supreme Court also asked senior advocate Karuna Nundy, representing the Association of Junior and Senior Doctors, to submit a list of pending matters before the Calcutta High Court related to the case.

The protests followed the heinous crime in which a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered within the hospital premises in August 2024. The accused, Sanjay Roy, a former civic volunteer associated with Kolkata police, was arrested the next day and subsequently convicted by a Kolkata trial court in January 2025, receiving life imprisonment. The case had ignited nationwide outrage and sustained demonstrations demanding justice and enhanced safety for healthcare professionals.

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Since taking suo motu cognizance of the matter in August 2024, the Supreme Court constituted a National Task Force to create protocols for the protection of medical professionals. The task force, as part of the central government’s affidavit, recommended no separate central legislation was required as most states already had laws addressing violence against healthcare workers. The investigation, initially with Kolkata police, was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after concerns about the probe’s thoroughness surfaced.

Along with monitoring the trial and investigation, the Supreme Court has been attentive to ancillary issues such as regularising unauthorised absences of protesting doctors amid ongoing unrest. The court is expected to resume hearing the matter after the winter judicial recess, continuing its oversight of related developments while entrusting local courts with more immediate control over protests and law enforcement.

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