Why Did CJI Chandrachud Cite Aruna Shanbaug's Chilling Story During Kolkata Rape-Murder Hearing?

New Delhi: During the hearing of the tragic rape and murder case involving a Kolkata doctor, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud evoked the harrowing 1973 Aruna Shanbaug case, underlining and brutal violence women in the medical profession continue to face.

"Female medical professionals face different forms of sexual violence at the workplace by colleagues, seniors and persons in authority. Sexual violence has had its origins even within the institution, the case of Aruna Shanbag being a case in point. There is a hierarchy within medical colleges and the career advancement and academic degrees of young professionals are capable of being affected by those in the upper echelons. The lack of institutional safety norms at medical establishments against both violence and sexual violence against medical professionals is a matter of serious concern," a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said, adding that the country cannot wait for rape or killing for real changes to take place on the ground.

The Aruna Shanbaug Case

The Aruna Shanbaug case stands as one of the most horrific assaults on medical professionals within hospital premises, eventually becoming a landmark case in the debate over euthanasia or mercy killing.

Aruna Shanbaug was a young nurse working at Mumbai's King Edward Memorial Hospital when, on November 27, 1973, she was brutally attacked and sexually assaulted by a ward boy named Sohanlal Bhartha Walmiki. The attack left her in a vegetative state due to severe brain damage caused by strangulation with a dog chain.

Aruna remained in this state for 42 years, cared for by the hospital staff until her death in 2015. Her case became widely known when journalist Pinki Virani filed a petition in 2009 seeking euthanasia for Aruna, arguing that keeping her alive was inhumane. The case led to a landmark judgment by the Supreme Court of India in 2011, which rejected the plea for euthanasia but laid down guidelines for passive euthanasia, allowing it under strict conditions.

In Pinki Virani's book Aruna's Story, it is revealed that Sohanlal Bhartha Walmiki harboured a grudge against Aruna Shanbaug after she accused him of pilfering food meant for dogs involved in medical experiments at the hospital. Her threat to report him to the hospital authorities led to his violent assault on her.

Kolkata Rape-Murder:  What Happened in the Supreme Court | Top Quotes From The Hearing

• The country cannot wait for a rape or killing for real changes to take place on the ground.
• Medical associations have consistently raised the issue, the court observed while pointing out that medical professionals in the performance of their duties have been unfortunate targets of various forms of violence.
• "The constitutional value of equality demands nothing else and will not brook compromises on the health, well-being and safety of those who provide healthcare to others. The nation cannot await a rape or murder for real changes on the ground," the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said.
• The court said hospitals and other healthcare facilities are open round the clock and unrestricted access to anyone to every part of such institutions has made healthcare professionals susceptible to violence.
• "Relatives of patients in anguish are quick to attribute untoward results to the negligence of medical professionals. Such allegations are immediately followed by violence against medical professionals," it said.
• Due to ingrained patriarchal attitudes and biases, relatives of patients are more likely to challenge women medical professionals, it stated further.
• While gender violence is the source of the more malevolent manifestations of the structural deficiencies in public health institutions, the lack of safety is of concern to all medical professionals.
• Preserving safe conditions of work is central to realising equality of opportunity to every working professional. This is not just a matter of protecting doctors. Their safety and well-being as health providers is a matter of national interest.
• The constitutional value of equality demands nothing else and will not brook compromises on the health, well-being and safety of those who provide healthcare to others. 

Kolkata Horror

A trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was raped and killed, sparking protests in several cities and an attack on a medical college campus as doctors and paramedics in several cities across India demand better and safer working conditions.

The suspension of work by doctors has affected thousands of patients across India. They are demanding more stringent laws to protect them from violence, including making any attack on on-duty medics an offence without the possibility of bail.

Thousands of people, particularly women, have marched in the streets of Kolkata and other Indian cities demanding justice for the doctor. They say women in India continue to face rising violence despite tough laws that were implemented following the gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012.