SC junks Ghosh's plea against CBI probe

ON a day when the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches in at least a dozen locations in Kolkata and Howrah linked to former RG Kar Hospital's principal Sandip Ghosh, the Supreme Court rejected Ghosh's petition that challenged the Calcutta HC order for a CBI probe involving him following his claim that the court did not hear his side before passing the decision.

- SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY & SULAGNA SENGUPTA

The apex court order is a big setback for Ghosh, who is now in CBI custody, and is facing serious allegations of financial and administrative misconduct allegedly linked to the rapemurder of a trainee doctor.

A three-judge bench of the top court, led by CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, refused to entertain his petition. They bench said the former principal has no locus in a PIL seeking a probe into corruption in the disposal of bio-medical waste and that both rape-murder and corruption are being investigated by CBI. "Let the CBI give us a status report," it said.

Senior lawyer, Meenakshi Arora, appearing for Ghosh, said these two cases-financial irregularities and misconduct were separate and must be probed separately by the CBI.