RG Kar Case: SC Bail to Sandip Ghosh Draws Mixed Reactions

• Supreme Court grants bail to Sandip Ghosh
• Relief concerns alleged hospital financial irregularities
• TMC leader says bail does not prove innocence
• Trial delays cited in Supreme Court decision

GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 17th Oct: The Supreme Court’s decision to grant bail to former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh in a case involving alleged financial irregularities has drawn reactions in West Bengal, with Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kunal Ghosh stressing that bail does not amount to a declaration of innocence.

Referring to the protests that followed the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the Kolkata hospital on August 9, 2024, Kunal Ghosh said supporters of the ‘Abhaya’ movement might feel disheartened, but legal proceedings must be governed by the law rather than emotions.

He said the grant of bail did not establish that Sandip Ghosh was innocent or had no connection with the alleged offences. He also suggested that legal and technical considerations could have influenced the court’s decision.

The Supreme Court granted relief to Sandip Ghosh on Thursday, citing the nearly two years he had spent in custody and the slow progress of the trial. The case concerns alleged financial irregularities at the hospital and manipulation of merit scores to favour ineligible candidates.

Ghosh had approached the apex court after a special CBI court rejected his bail pleas and the Calcutta High Court dismissed his petition.

In a separate development, the Sealdah court granted him bail in the rape-and-murder case in December 2024 after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) failed to file a chargesheet within the mandatory 90-day period. However, he continued to remain in custody in the financial irregularities case.

The West Bengal government sanctioned his prosecution in the corruption case on May 18, 2026. The allegations remain subject to judicial proceedings.