Calcutta HC new bench to hear RG Kar rape-murder case on May 19
Synopsis
Nearly nine months after the RG Kar hospital rape and murder shook India, the Calcutta High Court has reconstituted its bench to fast-track oversight of the case. With the new state government suspending senior police officers, clearing ED prosecution of the former principal, and the CBI running parallel probes, the legal battle is entering a sharply different phase.
Key Takeaways
A new Calcutta High Court division bench — Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Tirthankar Ghosh — will hear the RG Kar rape-murder case on 19 May 2025 at 1 pm IST .
The previous bench headed by Justice Rajasekhar Mantha recused on 12 May ; Chief Justice Sujoy Paul referred the matter to the new bench on 15 May .
All connected petitions, including the victim family's plea to visit the crime scene, will be heard by the new bench.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari suspended former Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal and two deputy commissioners over the initial probe's handling.
The new state government cleared ED prosecution of former principal Sandip Ghosh in the financial irregularities case — a sanction the previous regime had withheld.
The CBI is conducting parallel probes into both the rape-murder and the R.G.
Kar financial irregularities.
A new division bench of the Calcutta High Court, comprising Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, is scheduled to hear the RG Kar rape and murder case on Tuesday, 19 May 2025, with proceedings set to begin at 1 pm IST. The case concerns the brutal rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in August 2024.
How the New Bench Was Constituted
The reconstitution follows the recusal of the previous division bench, headed by Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, on 12 May. Justice Mantha, while stepping aside, noted that 'this important case needs to be heard quickly.' Chief Justice Sujoy Paul subsequently referred the matter to the new bench on 15 May, directing that all connected petitions — including the victim's family's plea seeking permission to visit the crime scene — be consolidated before Justices Sarkar and Ghosh.
The Crime Scene Visit Plea
The victim's family has sought court permission to visit the crime scene at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which took over the probe from Kolkata Police on the High Court's orders, did not object to this plea. However, the previous state government under then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had opposed it. The previous bench had pointedly questioned why the state was resisting a request that the investigating agency itself had not contested.
New Government's Actions on the Case
The new state government, led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, has taken several steps signalling a break from the earlier administration's approach. It announced the suspension of former Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal and two deputy commissioners, Indira Mukherjee and Abhishek Gupta, citing shoddy handling of the initial police probe before the CBI assumed charge.
On Monday, Adhikari also announced that the state government would permit the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute former R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh in connection with the financial irregularities case linked to the institution — a permission that the previous regime had withheld. Notably, this sanction is limited to the ED's financial irregularities probe; the CBI is separately investigating both the financial irregularities and the rape and murder case.
Parallel Probes and What Comes Next
The CBI is simultaneously conducting two probes — into the R.G. Kar financial irregularities and the rape and murder — both arising from the same hospital premises. The ED's prosecution of Sandip Ghosh, now cleared by the state, adds a third legal track to an already complex case. With the new bench now in place, the High Court's oversight role over all connected petitions is expected to gather pace.
Point of View
But the political context around it is anything but. The previous government's resistance to even the victim family's crime scene visit — overridden by the CBI's non-objection — exposed a troubling posture that the courts themselves flagged. The new government's suspension of senior police officers and the ED prosecution clearance for Sandip Ghosh signal a deliberate distancing from that record, but these are administrative moves, not convictions. The real test of accountability lies in what the CBI's parallel probes produce in court — and whether the Calcutta High Court's accelerated oversight translates into actual legal closure for a case that has been pending for nearly a year.
NationPress
4 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Which bench will hear the RG Kar rape-murder case on 19 May 2025?
The case will be heard by a new division bench comprising Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Tirthankar Ghosh of the Calcutta High Court, with proceedings scheduled to begin at 1 pm IST on 19 May 2025.
Why did the previous bench recuse from the RG Kar case?
The earlier division bench, headed by Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, recused on 12 May, observing that 'this important case needs to be heard quickly.' Chief Justice Sujoy Paul then referred the matter to the new bench on 15 May.
What is the victim family's plea about?
The victim's family has filed a petition seeking permission to visit the crime scene at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. The CBI did not object to this plea, though the previous state government had opposed it. The new bench will now decide on this petition.
Who is Sandip Ghosh and why is he in the news?
Sandip Ghosh is the former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. He is linked to both the financial irregularities case at the institution and, separately, the rape and murder of the junior doctor in August 2024. The new state government has now cleared the ED to prosecute him in the financial irregularities case — a sanction withheld by the previous regime.
What action has the new West Bengal government taken in the RG Kar case?
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's government suspended former Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal and two deputy commissioners for mishandling the initial probe. It also granted the ED permission to prosecute Sandip Ghosh in the financial irregularities case, reversing the previous government's position.
