Kolkata, Feb 6: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday emphasized the need to balance swift trial proceedings with the rights of the accused, granting former R G Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh reasonable time before charges are framed in a case of alleged financial irregularities during his tenure.
Ghosh, who also came under public scrutiny following the rape and murder of a medic on the college premises on August 9 last year, had moved the division bench seeking postponement of the charges’ framing by the special CBI court in Alipore.
The division bench, comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Subhendu Samanta, observed that while expediting the trial was essential, the accused's right to prepare a defense could not be overlooked. Ghosh’s counsel argued that the CBI had provided thousands of pages of documents on February 1, leaving insufficient time to review them ahead of the February 4 date for charge framing.
Justice Bagchi questioned whether requesting additional time to study the documents was unreasonable, but warned Ghosh's counsel against using delay tactics to prolong the proceedings. The bench proposed granting Ghosh a week's time to review the documents and file a discharge petition, if desired.
The court also announced its intent to monitor the proceedings, directing that any discharge petitions filed by the accused be heard within seven days by the special court. Charges, if necessary, would then be framed immediately afterward.
"We do not want a situation where justice hurried is justice buried, but at the same time, we will keep the entire proceeding under strict supervision," the bench stated, stressing its commitment to expediting the trial without compromising due process.
Among the five accused in the financial irregularities case, three have already filed discharge petitions. The court has scheduled its next hearing three weeks from now, during which the CBI is expected to submit a progress report.
The trial will proceed promptly once charges are framed, with the CBI required to present a schedule for concluding prosecution evidence within a reasonable timeframe.
