Kolkata doctor rape-murder case in SC: 21 lawyers to represent West Bengal govt, 5 for Centre

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has submitted a crucial progress report regarding the investigation into the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. This report was filed ahead of a Supreme Court hearing scheduled for today.

A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra, convened on Tuesday, August 20, to assess the CBI's status report as part of a case it had decided to take up independently.

The court had previously requested updates on the ongoing investigation and incidents of vandalism at the hospital from the CBI and the West Bengal government.

Sources confirmed to India Today that both reports have been submitted to the Supreme Court. Notably, the Bengal government's legal team consists of 21 lawyers, while the Centre's team comprises five advocates.

Here's the list:

For the West Bengal government-

1. Senior advocate Kapil sibal
2. Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy
3. Advocate Sanjay Basu
4. Advocate Astha Sharma
5. Advocate Srisatya Mohanty
6. Advocate Nipun Saxena,
7. Advocate Anju Thomas
8. Advocate Aparajita Jamwal
9. Advocate Sanjeev Kaushik
10. Advocate Mantika Haryani
11. Advocate Shreyas Awasthi
12. Advocate Utkarsh Pratap
13. Advocate Pratibha Yada
14. Advocate Lihzu Shiney Konyak
15. ADVOCATE Ripul Swati Kumari
16. Advocate Lavkesh Bhanbhani
17. Advocate Arunisa Das
18. Advocate Devadipta Das
19.  Advocate Archit Adlakha
20. Advocate Aditya Raj Pandey
21. Advocate Mehreen Garg

For the Union of India-

1. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta
2. Advocate Madhav Sinhal
3. Advocate Arkaj Kumar
4. Advocate Swati Ghildiyal
5. Advocate M.K. Maroria, AOR

 

The horrifying incident, which has generated widespread outrage and protests nationwide, highlighted serious safety concerns for healthcare professionals, particularly women.

The Supreme Court criticised the West Bengal government during the hearing, emphasising its "various lapses" in handling the case and its inability to curb the vandalism at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The state government is expected to provide an updated status report today on the investigation into the vandalism.

During Tuesday's proceedings, the Supreme Court strongly reprimanded RG Kar Medical College and Hospital for its handling of the case, specifically criticising the delay in filing a First Information Report (FIR) following the victim's cremation.

The court also questioned the hospital's practices, highlighting that the parents of the victim were made to wait for three hours before being allowed to see their daughter's body.