The Calcutta High Court on Monday requested a response from the State government regarding a plea seeking the registration of a case against former Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal for disclosing the name of the RG Kar Hospital rape-murder victim to the media.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Bivas Pattanayak issued the order, expressing concern about proceeding with the matter while a related application is still pending before the Supreme Court.
“We have been informed that a clarification was sought from the Supreme Court. Since the application is pending, we are unsure if we are entitled to continue with this matter independently, given that the Supreme Court has already issued directions to remove the victim’s name and identity from the internet. The question is whether the allegations in this petition, which predate the Supreme Court’s order, remain valid,” the Court observed.
The High Court directed the State to file its affidavit by November 13, with the matter scheduled for hearing on November 14.
During the proceedings, the Court highlighted that the Supreme Court had previously issued orders to safeguard the victim’s identity from being made public online. It was also noted that a similar order had been passed by the High Court before the current petition was heard.
The plea was filed by a lawyer practicing at the Calcutta High Court, seeking the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Goyal for revealing the victim’s identity.
Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, representing the petitioner, informed the Court that the Supreme Court, which is already handling the RG Kar Hospital case, clarified that this specific issue could be addressed by the High Court. Jethmalani argued that Goyal’s actions were criminal in nature, allowing the High Court to hear the case independently.
Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, representing Goyal, pointed out that the petitioners had delayed serving supplementary affidavits, and therefore, six additional weeks would be needed to file a response.
Since a related matter is scheduled for hearing before the Supreme Court on October 15, the High Court granted the State more time to file its response.
