Kolkata, Jan 29 (IANS) A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Wednesday, sought a report from the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata on the allegations of “threat culture” prevailing at the premium medical institute of the state.
The single-judge bench of Justice Jay Sengupta has directed the hospital authorities to submit that report by February 5. In the report, the hospital authorities will have to provide details of the steps taken by the authorities to eliminate the “threat culture”.
The single-judge bench also directed that whether the accused doctors were given chances to present their sides. A senior official of R.G. Kar will have to appear at the court physically in February for the case. On December 6 last year, Justice Sengupta’s bench sought a report from the R.G. Kar authorities.
However, the court was not satisfied with the report presented by R.G. Kar’s counsel since it lacked mentions of whether the accused doctors were given chances to present their sides of argument.
The issue of “threat culture” at different state-run medical colleges and hospitals in Kolkata, including R.G. Kar, surfaced following the ghastly rape and murder of a woman junior doctor of the same hospital within the hospital premises in August last year.
The former and controversial principal of R.G. Kar Sandip Ghosh and his close associates were then identified as the main steering personnel behind running this threat culture.
Shortly after that a number of doctors accused of running that “threat culture” were suspended by the respective college councils. However, the court stayed such suspensions in many such cases on the grounds that the accused doctors were not allowed to present their sides of the argument.
–IANS
src/dan
