Supreme Court rejects plea by ex-principal of R G Kar against Calcutta High Court's order of CBI probe into financial irregularities

On August 23, the high court ordered the transfer of the probe into the alleged financial irregularities from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea by Sandip Ghosh, former principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, claiming the Calcutta High Court did not hear him before ordering a CBI probe into alleged financial irregularities in the institute, rocked by "brutal" rape and murder of a P G doctor on August 9.

A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said possible accused can't claim locus in a PIL for probe into corruption in disposal of bio-medical waste.

The court noted both rape-murder and corruption were being investigated by CBI.

"Let CBI give us a status report," the bench said.

Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for Ghosh, contended the two cases should be probed separately.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the CBI, contended an accused can't dictate course of probe.

Agreeing to their submission, the bench said even court can't direct the course of investigations.

Ghosh faced serious allegations of financial and administrative misconduct and mishandling the August 9 medicos rape and murder case.

He claimed that the HC made a comment linking the incident of rape in the hospital to corruption unnecessarily, and without any basis and substance.

In its order on August 23, the High Court had directed for a CBI probe into the alleged corruption charges against Ghosh.

Prima facie, there are serious violations and irregularities that are seemed to be committed by Ghosh, the High Court had said, directing the CBI probe.

The Supreme Court had earlier taken Suo motu cognisance of the brutal and horrific incident of the rape and murder of the 31-year-old trainee PG doctor. It had also questioned the state government's move to shift Ghosh from R G Kar College and Hospital and appoint him in another college after the incident sparked country wide outrage.

It had also slammed the delay in the registration of the FIR and inconsistencies in the timings regarding the entries for unnatural death of the victim.

The CBI in its status report, filed before the Supreme Court, said that the crime scene, at the R G Kar Medical and College Hospital, was altered.

The court had also noted the state police told the parents that it was a suicide, but later on, said, it was a murder. The bench had then also questioned how the police were unaware of 7,000 strong mob attacking the hospital premises subsequently on August 14.