Bengal govt can take action against ex-Kolkata police chief: Centre informs HC

Kolkata, Nov 21 The Centre, on Thursday, informed a division bench of the Calcutta High Court that the West Bengal government has a free hand to initiate any action against former Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal for taking the name of the victim in the R.G. Kar rape and murder case at a press conference after the tragedy.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Ashoke Chakraborty informed the division bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam during the hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed last month accusing Goyal of revealing the identity of the victim woman doctor.

The division bench then directed the Department of Personnel & Training (DOPT) to be a party in the case, since DoPT is the cadre-control authority of all Central service officers, including an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer like Goyal.

The division bench also sought an affidavit from DoPT seeking an explanation on the nature of action that can be taken against any all-India service officer for breaching the law.

On Thursday, the ASG on behalf of the Union Home Ministry told the court that there is no restriction on the West Bengal government in initiating action against the former city police commissioner in the matter.

However, the petitioner could make a fresh appeal on this count in case the state government does not initiate any action. The matter will come up again for a hearing on December 23.

The PIL on this count was filed by Anita Pandey, a legal practitioner. In the petition, she had made a plea for an FIR to be registered against the former city Police Commissioner in the matter.

Goyal, currently the Additional Director General (ADG) of the Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police came under scathing criticism since the beginning of the R.G. Kar case over the alleged lackadaisical initial probe by the city police when he was at the helm of affairs.

The junior doctors since the beginning demanded his removal from the post. The Chief Minister finally accepted the demand of the junior doctors and Goyal was replaced by Manoj Kumar Verma.

Earlier to that, the charge of the investigation in the rape and murder case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from Kolkata Police. Both the Supreme Court and the Calcutta High Court in the past had made strong observations over the revelation of the identity of the victim.