Parents of the RG Medical College rape victim met CBI Director Praveen Sood to express their dissatisfaction with the agency's probe. They believe more than one person was involved in the rape and murder of their daughter and allege a cover-up. The CBI has challenged the life imprisonment sentence given to the convicted, seeking the death penalty.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the Sealdah court's decision to award life imprisonment till death to Sanjay Roy, the sole convict in the rape-murder of an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Banerjee said the incident was a "rare, heinous and sensitive crime" and she has been seeking capital punishment for Roy. She said the state government would challenge the verdict and move Calcutta High Court, which has granted permission to file an appeal against the Sealdah court order.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has defended her support for teachers who were dismissed following a Supreme Court verdict, accusing the BJP and CPI(M) of "hatching a conspiracy" to influence the ruling. She dared the BJP to arrest her for supporting the affected candidates, while asserting that her government will abide by the verdict but explore all legal options. The development has triggered political reactions with the BJP demanding Banerjee's resignation, while the CPI(M) expressed concern over the impact on the education system. Banerjee also criticized the BJP's handling of the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, drawing parallels to the school jobs scam in West Bengal.
The high court directed the state government to "immediately implement" its Tuesday's judgement to transfer a case on the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials at Sandeshkhali to the CBI and hand over custody of the main accused Sheikh to the central agency.
The accused in the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder case, Sanjay Roy, was brought to the Sealdah court on Monday. Kolkata Police, fearing he would make further controversial statements, kept blowing the horn of the vehicle carrying him, preventing journalists from hearing his voice. This comes after Roy made remarks against the former Kolkata police commissioner and claimed innocence during his previous court appearance. The trial, which is being heard in-camera on a day-to-day basis, continues with the testimony of three witnesses on Monday. The CBI is investigating the case following an order from the Calcutta High Court. The body of the on-duty doctor was discovered in the seminar room on August 9, sparking nationwide outrage and protests. Former principal Sandip Ghosh and former officer in-charge Abhijit Mondal, accused of tampering with evidence, had their judicial remand extended till December 2.
The convoy of West Bengal's Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, was allegedly attacked by TMC workers during a protest in Cooch Behar. Bulletproof glasses of Adhikari's vehicle were smashed. TMC denies involvement, calling it a 'well-scripted drama'.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an appeal in the Calcutta High Court seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, who was sentenced to "life imprisonment until death" for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The CBI argued that the crime falls under the "rarest of rare" category deserving capital punishment, while the trial court had ruled otherwise. The West Bengal government has also appealed for the death penalty, but the CBI opposed the state's right to file an appeal, claiming it was the prosecuting agency and therefore had the right to appeal on the grounds of inadequacy of the sentence. The high court will hear the appeals from the CBI, the victim's family, and the convict on January 27.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said it will hear the matter on May 6.
The high court also instructed both the Mamata government and the Centre to submit detailed reports on the situation. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on April 17.
The death of a 24-year-old nurse at a private nursing home in West Bengal's Hooghly district has triggered political unrest and allegations of a cover-up. Opposition parties are demanding a fair investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death, alleging foul play and potential sexual assault.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sanjay Karol made the observation while setting aside a Calcutta high court order that had revoked a doctor's licence for contempt of court.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has appealed to the Supreme Court to modify its order annulling over 25,000 jobs in schools. The board argues that the termination of 11.3% of existing teachers would have a devastating impact on schools in the state and impact the education of over 78.6 lakh students. The WBBSE is seeking to allow untainted candidates to continue in service until the end of the academic year or until the process of fresh appointments is concluded, whichever is earlier.
Controversial Madras high court Judge Justice C S Karnan, who recently 'stayed' the CJI's order transferring him, has been directed to join the Calcutta high court on or before March 11.
At a time when there is no mechanism in place to appoint or elevate judges to the higher judiciary, 8 high court judges have retired in a month, raising the vacancies from 384 in August to 392 this month.
The Calcutta high court on Monday declared as null and void the selection process of State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools, ordering cancellation of all appointments made through it.
The Calcutta high court on Friday passed an interim stay on an earlier order terminating jobs of around 32,000 teachers in West Bengal government-sponsored and -aided primary schools till the end of September or until further orders.
Officials aware of the procedure to appoint and remove Supreme Court and high court judges pointed out that while defending his case before lawmakers in any of the House, Justice Varma can announce that he is quitting and his verbal statement will be considered as his resignation.
Senior advocate Vrinda Grover will no longer be representing the family of the victim in the R G Kar Medical College rape-murder case. The trial court has been informed and Grover's chamber, including advocates Soutik Banerjee and Arjun Gooptu, are now discharged from the matter. The chamber had been representing the victim's family pro bono since September 2024, but "certain intervening factors and circumstances" have led to Grover's withdrawal. The case is currently being investigated by the CBI after the Calcutta High Court transferred it from the Kolkata Police.
The situation remained tense but peaceful during the day, amid heavy police deployment in the area.
The three leaders had at a public meeting on November 17 allegedly derided the court order of the previous day that had also directed the West Bengal government to pay Rs five lakh as compensation to each of the families of the 14 who died in the police action on March 14.
The West Bengal government has sought permission from the Calcutta High Court to appeal against the Sealdah court order that sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment until death in the RG Kar hospital doctor's rape and murder case. The state government is seeking the death penalty for Roy, the sole convict in the case, and has expressed dissatisfaction with the Sealdah court's verdict, which did not consider the crime "rarest of the rare." The court also ordered Roy to pay a Rs 50,000 fine and directed the state government to pay compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the family of the deceased doctor.
The top court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had on July 5 recommended the appointment of Justice Mridul, a judge of the Delhi high court, as the chief justice of the Manipur high court, amid the ethnic turmoil in the border state.
The Calcutta High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit the case diary initially prepared by the Kolkata Police in connection with the rape-murder of an on-duty doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The court also instructed the CBI to present a list of individuals interviewed in the case at the next hearing scheduled for April 23. The CBI has been investigating the incident since August 13, 2024, when the case was transferred from Kolkata Police. The court noted inconsistencies between the inquest and post-mortem reports, with two injury marks mentioned in the inquest report but absent in the post-mortem report. The CBI is currently investigating whether there was a larger conspiracy behind the crime and if there had been any attempt to destroy evidence.
'We kept importing educational models from outside that had no connection to our cultural and intellectual strengths.'
The Centre on Thursday approached the Supreme Court to seek vacation of the Calcutta High Court order -- staying the implementation of a government memorandum relating to 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes -- in postgraduate course in the Indian Institute of Management - Calcutta. The apex court said that the matter would be listed for mentioning on Friday.
The Supreme Court of India has invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in West Bengal's state-run and state-aided schools, deeming the selection process "vitiated and tainted." The court ordered the state government to conduct a fresh selection process within three months. The decision comes after a Calcutta High Court verdict in April 2024, which also annulled the appointments. The apex court, while upholding the high court's order, made some modifications, including exempting disabled employees from returning their salaries. The case stemmed from alleged irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), involving OMR sheet tampering and rank-jumping. The Supreme Court had previously termed it a "systemic fraud." Former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and Trinamool Congress MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha are among the accused being investigated in the recruitment scam.
'The police could not save my daughter or bring her justice, but they didn't think twice about beating up women and elderly persons.'
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by the West Bengal government challenging the Calcutta high court's order which directed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the allegations of crimes against women and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali.
The Congress party has criticized the Modi government for appointing Dr Shaija A, a professor at NIT-Calicut, as Dean despite a pending police case against her for allegedly praising Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi's assassin. The party alleges this appointment is part of a larger pattern by the government to "appropriate Gandhi, glorify Godse". The appointment has sparked protests from political parties, including DYFI, the youth wing of the CPI(M). Shaija was questioned by police last year after making a comment on social media expressing "pride" in Godse for assassinating Gandhi. The appointment is for two years, until further orders.
The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) on Friday said it would abide by the Supreme Court directive and soon initiate the process of conducting fresh exams for all teaching and non-teaching candidates, who took part in the now-invalidated 2016 job recruitment exercise.
In a major relief to 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff of West Bengal, the Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the order of the Calcutta high court order invalidating their appointment made by the state's School Service Commission (SSC) in the state-run and state-aided schools.
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Friday filed a defamation case against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Calcutta high court, a day after she said that women complained to her saying that they were afraid to visit the Raj Bhavan because of the activities there, a source said.
A team of CBI officials reached CID headquarters Bhawani Bhawan in Kolkata before 4 pm. But the handover from the state agency took place at around 6:48 pm, despite the Calcutta high court setting a deadline of 4.15 pm.
The first day of the Bengali New Year, Poila Baisakh, passed without any celebrations in Dhulian, West Bengal, for the first time in over 50 years. Fear gripped the area following violence over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, leading to canceled rituals, shop closures, and a sense of uncertainty. The violence, which started on April 8, left three people dead and several injured. Protesters blocked highways, torched vehicles, and disrupted train services. While the police deployed central forces and imposed restrictions, locals still fear for their safety and demand permanent security measures. The town and its surrounding areas remain tense, with many families displaced and facing significant losses.
The agency has slapped Section 120B of IPC (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 420 IPC (cheating and dishonesty) and Section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended in 2018) which covers unlawful acceptance of gratification by a public servant.
Taking a serious view of violence after the assembly poll results in West Bengal, the Calcutta high court on Friday ordered the state home secretary to file a report mentioning the places where the post-poll violence occurred and the steps taken to contain the violence.
The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the elevation of the Chief Justice of Bombay high court, Justice Dipankar Datta, as a judge of the apex court.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to move the Calcutta high court on Wednesday against the West Bengal government for not handing over suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh's custody to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a highly placed source said.
The CBI, tasked by the Calcutta high court to probe the case, received local court approval to conduct a polygraph test on the accused, days after performing a psychoanalysis test on him.
The anti-corruption unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation also searched the residences and offices of those engaged in supplying materials for the management and care of patients.