Kolkata, Sept. 18 -- The Calcutta High Court has set aside the transfer of a cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgeon from SSKM Hospital to Malda Medical College, holding that the decision was arbitrary and reflected a complete lack of application of mind.
Justice Reetobroto Kumar Mitra was hearing a petition by Dr Shilpa Basu Roy, who has been serving at SSKM Hospital since 2017 and was promoted as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cardiovascular and Cardiothoracic Surgery in December 2018. The court noted that her competence and merit were not in dispute. She also performs renal transplantation surgery and attends to at least 100 patients daily in the hospital's OPD.
An August 19, 2026 notification transferred Basu Roy to Malda Medical College as an Associate Professor and consultant doctor.
She challenged the transfer, pointing out that Malda did not have a cardiovascular and cardiothoracic department.
The State produced a September 11 communication from the Special Secretary, Medical Education, which stated that a proposal to open such a department had been made, but had not
received approval.
The court said this supported the petitioner's apprehension that no such department existed at Malda. It observed that transferring a doctor of her competence to a college without the relevant department showed a lack of transparency and application of mind. The court also found that Malda lacked the infrastructure required to provide cardiovascular or cardiothoracic surgery.
The August 19 transfer order and August 22 release order were set aside. The authorities were given liberty to transfer her to a medical college or hospital with adequate infrastructure. Until then, she will continue serving at SSKM Hospital. There was no order as to costs.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.