The parents of the victim in the R G Kar Medical College rape-murder case have sought additional time from the Calcutta High Court regarding its decision to order a reinvestigation.

Their counsel, Gargi Goswami, informed the court: “We had appealed to the Supreme Court asking whether the single bench of Calcutta High Court has the liberty to hear the matter. The matter will be heard this week in Supreme Court; thus, we are praying for time.”

The state government, meanwhile, submitted a report asserting that it had “no role” in the investigation.

The parents of the deceased doctor initially approached the High Court in December 2024, expressing distrust in the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) probe. Their counsel argued that key evidence had been lost and urged for a fresh investigation. However, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, presiding over the single bench, deferred action, seeking clarification from the Supreme Court, given that an earlier division bench had assigned the case to the CBI and mandated progress reports.

The case has been mired in controversy. Two prominent figures — Sandip Ghosh, former principal of R G Kar Medical College, and Abhijit Mondol, a former police officer — were granted bail in December 2024 after the CBI failed to file a chargesheet within 90 days. Both had been arrested in September on allegations of evidence tampering and attempting to suppress the case.

The High Court first transferred the case to the CBI after suspecting bias in the local police investigation. Three days prior, a civic police volunteer, Sanjay Roy, had been arrested as the prime suspect in the crime, which took place on August 9, 2024. The trial began in November, and in January, a Sealdah trial court sentenced Roy to life imprisonment.

With the Supreme Court now involved, the future of the case remains uncertain, as the victim’s family continues to push for a fresh probe.