Kolkata's ex-top cop apologises to High Court for revealing RG Kar victim's name

Former Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal apologised to the Calcutta High Court for unintentionally disclosing the name of the victim in the RG Kar rape and murder case.

Goyal, a 1994 batch IPS officer, expressed regret through a letter submitted by his lawyers to the division bench led by Justice Raja Shekhar Mantha and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta.

The letter, delivered on Thursday, was part of the hearing in a contempt of court case filed against Goyal. In the letter, the former top cop said, “I had no malicious intention. I express my regret.”

The incident dates back to last year when Goyal, serving as the Kolkata Police Commissioner, unintentionally revealed the victim’s name during a media briefing following the horrific rape and murder incident at RG Kar Hospital. The revelation drew widespread condemnation and led to the filing of a contempt petition in the Calcutta High Court.

The court took note of the apology and disposed of the contempt proceedings. However, the bench made it clear that such lapses are not acceptable from officers of a disciplined force like the Kolkata Police.

The court advised the Director General of Police, West Bengal, to provide further training and conduct workshops to ensure officers exercise greater caution in sensitive matters.

During Thursday’s hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer, Jay Anant Dehadrai, objected to the apology and said, “There is no question of an apology here. We are not accepting this. It has been mentioned in several orders of the Supreme Court that the name of the victim cannot be made public.”

Defending Goyal, senior advocates Sandipan Ganguly and Menaka Guruswamy said, “CBI has been seeking to investigate this incident. This incident happened suddenly. It was not said with the intention of belittling anyone. He has expressed regret.”

After reviewing the matter, the court acknowledged that there was no deliberate intent in revealing the victim’s name, attributing the act to a moment of excitement. Nonetheless, the bench reiterated that such conduct is inappropriate, and it emphasised the need for institutional caution moving forward.

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With input from Manas Naskar.