Civic volunteer recruitment can't be a means to confer political patronage, SC tells West Bengal government

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday put under scrutiny recruitment of civic volunteers under West Bengal ’s ‘ Ratirer Sathi ’ scheme, floated after the RG Kar hospital rape-murder incident in which an earlier similarly engaged volunteer is the prime accused, and said such hirings cannot be a device to confer political patronage.

“Recruitment of civic volunteers cannot be a nice process to confer political patronage on unverified persons,” said a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. It sought details of recruitment process from the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC govt in three weeks while barring their deployment in hospitals and schools till further orders.

Senior advocate Karuna Nundy, appearing for a doctors’ association in Kolkata, requested the bench to restrain the government from allowing the civic volunteers under ‘Ratirer Sathi’ scheme, which aims to ensure safety and security of women working night shifts, from handling police duties.

“One such civic volunteer is the prime accused in the RG Kar hospital incident,” she said. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for West Bengal, told the bench that earlier the civic volunteers, including the gentleman who is an accused in the rape-murder incident, were recruited under a 2011 police order.

“I am referring to the accused as a gentleman as he is yet not convicted. The civic volunteers under the ‘Ratirer Sathi’ scheme are being recruited under the central law – the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act, 2005, which applies to all states and UTs,” Dwivedi said.

The bench asked West Bengal to file an affidavit in three weeks giving details on the following – the legal source of authority for recruitment of civic volunteers, eligibility qualification and criteria, verification of antecedents, institutions where these volunteers are to be deployed, salary to be paid to them, monthly outlay and budgetary allocation, and the selection process.

“These volunteers should not be deployed in hospitals and schools till further orders," the bench said. WB is in the process of recruiting 1,514 additional civic volunteers, of which 910 would be females. Dwivedi with advocate Astha Sharma told the SC that 616 volunteers, including 328 females, have completed their training.

The bench said if these volunteers are deployed in police stations, the state would mention in the affidavit the duties assigned to them. Appearing for the parents of the RG Kar hospital victim’s parents, advocate Vrinda Grover said the accused civic volunteer was posted in the hospital to assist police deployed there and was staying in police barracks.

Prior to this, solicitor general Tushar Mehta presented a status report of CBI probe into the rape-murder incident as well as investigations into the alleged financial irregularities. The bench noted that further investigations into the rape-murder incident of August 9, after filing of the chargesheet against main accused Sanjay Roy, is continuing and asked the agency to file further status report in three weeks.

Nundy and senior advocate Indira Jaising said one of the major reasons for attack on doctors in hospitals by relatives of patients dissatisfied with the non-availability of beds, medicines or doctors. When Dwivedi said the state has launched a pilot project ‘Integrated Hospital Management System’ (IHMS) under ‘Rogi Kalyan Samiti’ from October 1, the bench asked the state to specify whether it ensured availability of free beds, medical facilities and doctors at the referral hospitals.

The SC expressed displeasure at the slow-paced functioning of the National Task Force, constituted on its order by the Centre comprising doctors, health experts and other stakeholders, and its sub-groups to recommend strengthening of medical infrastructure, security at hospitals, revising working conditions of doctors and healthcare staff, as well as strengthening of legal framework.

It frowned at the non-holding of any meeting by NTF and its sub-groups since September 9 and asked these bodies to expedite their work and submit tentative recommendations in three weeks.