Kapil Sibal tells Supreme Court his female colleagues are getting rape threats for appearing in RG Kar case

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that lawyers in his chambers were receiving rape threats and threats of physical harm for representing the State of West Bengal before the apex court in the case concerning rape and death of a resident doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar hospital [In Re: Alleged Rape and Murder Incident of a Trainee Doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata and Related Issues].Sibal flagged concerns surrounding the safety of his chamber juniors before the Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra."There are threats to women in my chamber and then there are posts about me laughing. When did I laugh. It is being said that acid will be thrown at them and raped etc. People on the ground are saying this," Sibal said."If there are any such threat to any man or woman, we will step in," the Bench reassured.Sibal said that the reputation built by lawyers over 50 years is being destroyed overnight. "I have great concerns at what is happening.. When a matter is livestreamed like this which has emotive implications. We are not here for the accused. We appear for the State and as soon as the court is making a comment our reputation is getting destroyed over night. It is 50 years of reputation. In Swapnil Tripathi case, it was held such cases should not be livestreamed," Sibal said.Hence, he requested that live hearing of the matter should be halted but the Court refused to accede to that request."We will not stop the livestreaming. It is in public interest," the CJI remarked..The Bench was hearing a suo motu case regarding the rape and murder of a 31-year-old resident doctor, who was found dead at the State-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal..The doctor was found dead at a seminar hall of the college on August 9. An autopsy confirmed that she was raped and murdered.The incident has sparked nationwide outrage and protests with doctors in various parts of the country going on strike demanding stricter laws and policing to ensure the safety of medical professionals.The matter is currently being probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the Calcutta High Court transferred the probe to the central agency.Subsequently, the top court initiated the suo motu case.During one of the previous hearings in the matter, the top court had issued several directives including the establishment of a National Task Force to examine the issues concerning safety and dignity of doctors and medical professionals and to address gender based violence and other issues concerning well being and safety faced by doctors and other medical professionals at workplace.The Court had also directed the CBI to submit a status report on the progress of investigation into the case.It had also ordered the State of West Bengal to file a status report on the progress of probe into the acts of vandalism which took place at the hospital and its premises in aftermath of the crime.The Court had further instructed that CISF security be provided at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital..[Read Live Coverage]