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

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 the 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  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.

Sandip Ghosh, former principal of R G Kar Hospital and Abhijit Mondal, Tala police

station officer-in-charge — were granted bail in December 2024 after 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 HC 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.