The Calcutta High Court will hear the case of Aniket Mahato, Ashfaqulla Naiya and Debashis Halder, the three faces of the R G Kar movement, regarding their transfer to different facilities after getting allocated hospitals post counselling.
Aniket Mahato, Ashfaqulla Naiya and Debashis Halder—who were at the forefront of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital protests over the August 9 rape and murder of their colleague—approached the High Court in May this year, challenging the state’s decision in the posting controversy.
The state Health Department had transferred them to Malda, Purulia and Uttar Dinajpur, respectively. The three doctors moved the High Court against their posting, calling it arbitrary and alleging that the state government was punishing them for leading the protests. They contended that they were transferred to district hospitals barely three months after getting their first postings in February—when Halder was posted at Howrah, Mahato at Hooghly, and Naiya at Kolkata.
On Wednesday, the court also observed that since Aniket Mahato has not yet joined, no strict action can be taken against him for the time being. Justice Biswajit Basu said, “Aniket Mahato is an anesthesiologist, you should not keep this doctor and use him wherever there is a vacancy.”
The state, however, argued: “Even if given a posting, he will not join the work.” Advocate General Kishore Dutta said, “This will have far-reaching consequences. Because every year, several medical students, unhappy with their assigned postings, will file cases in the Calcutta High Court from now on.”
Justice Biswajit Basu dismissed the state’s plea to refer the cases to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT), observing, “The state’s position in such cases is unacceptable. The state should be more vigilant in such cases. Then the court’s valuable time will be saved.”
The state counsel had argued that the case should be sent to the SAT since Aniket is a government employee and the state pays his salary. However, the High Court rejected the argument.
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Though Halder and Naiya have joined their respective posts, Mahato is yet to join the hospital in Purulia. Mahato’s counsel told the court that there is a vacancy at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and that his client wants to fill the post.
Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer working for Kolkata Police, is the lone convict in the rape and murder case that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probed on the orders of the Calcutta High Court. Roy was sentenced to jail for the rest of his life by a Sealdah court on January 18.
Earlier this month, Roy moved the Calcutta High Court against the life sentence. The CBI has also filed an appeal in the High Court earlier this year, challenging the life sentence and seeking capital punishment.
