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Kolkata, Nov 6 (IANS) A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday upheld a single bench order that had rejected the West Bengal government’s direction to transfer a junior doctor – who had emerged as one of the faces of the movement after the rape and murder of a woman doctor at the Government RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August last year – to a remote hospital in the northern region of West Bengal.
As a result, the transfer order of Dr. Aniket Mahato, appointed as “Senior Resident” at Raiganj Medical College and Hospital, North Dinajpur district, has been cancelled.
The division bench’s decision effectively means that, as per the earlier single bench order, Mahato’s posting will be at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital – his first choice posting, as indicated during the consultation session for senior resident appointments.
Reacting to Thursday’s decision, Aniket said, “This is definitely a victory for justice and transparency. It has been seven months since the posting controversy. I have been away from my chosen profession for so long. I hope that this time at least I will be given posting as per the court order and I will be able to start working as a doctor soon. This entire incident is nothing but political vendetta. I hope that in future the recruitment process will be transparent and in accordance with the rules.”
Mahato was not the only doctor who was denied his preferred posting after the counseling process earlier this year. Two other junior doctors – Debashish Halder and Asfaqulla Naiya – who were part of the RG tax protest movement, were similarly denied their first choice postings.
In September, a single bench of Justice Biswajit Basu had ruled that Aniket should be posted in the anesthesia department of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The court had found that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) followed in such cases was not followed in her case, thereby violating Article 14 – Equality Clause of the Constitution.
Dissatisfied with the decision, the state government had demanded a stay on the order till October 7. However, Justice Basu rejected the petition. Subsequently, the state approached a division bench challenging the single bench order.
On Thursday, a division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty upheld the single bench verdict and dismissed the state government’s appeal, effectively confirming that the transfer order was arbitrary and a violation of procedural fairness.
–IANS
SH/PGH