CJI gets pronunciation lesson in Kolkata case – and gives it back
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said he mispronounced the name of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital as “car” today. Justice Hrishikesh Roy, a judge of the Supreme Court, informed him of his error.
The Supreme Court was hearing petitions related to the horrific rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at a Kolkata hospital. When a lawyer mentioned that she was representing junior doctors working at the government hospital, the CJI replied, “By the way, Justice Hrishikesh Roy told me you keep saying ‘kar’, ‘kar’, it’s ‘kar’. I am sorry.”
RG Kar Medical College was founded in 1886 as the Calcutta School of Medicine by Indian physician Radha Govind Kar. At the time, it had no affiliated hospital or its own campus. The college got a building of its own in 1902. In 1916, it was renamed Belgachia Medical College. Two years later, it was renamed Carmichael Medical College in honour of Bengal Governor Thomas Gibson-Carmichael. After independence, the college was named after its founder Dr Radha Govind Kar. The West Bengal government then took over the management of the hospital.
The government hospital located in north Kolkata came into the limelight when a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was found dead on duty in the seminar hall of the hospital on the morning of August 9. Medical examination confirmed sexual assault.
After this horrific incident, protests have started across the country and there is a demand for speedy justice.In order to demand safe working conditions, doctors have taken to the streets across the nation. All across the nation, healthcare services are at a standstill due to the doctors’ protest.
The Supreme Court has set up a national task force to recommend steps to improve working conditions for healthcare professionals. During the hearing today, a lawyer representing a group of doctors said that doctors sometimes have to work for 36 hours. The Chief Justice shot back, saying, “Please reassure the doctors that we know they are working for 36 hours.” I have personally passed the night on a public hospital floor during a family member’s illness.”
