The high court on Tuesday clipped the wings of Sandip Ghosh, who was the principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital when a junior doctor was raped and murdered there, and ordered that he be asked to go on leave immediately.

Ghosh resigned as the RG Kar principal on Monday and was appointed, within hours, the principal of the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital.

But students and junior doctors at National Medical College vowed not to let their new principal in. On Tuesday, they sat outside the building housing the principal’s office. Ghosh did not turn up to take charge.

Coming down on Ghosh, the bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya questioned the “tearing urgency” with which he was appointed the principal of National Medical College.

“It is difficult to comprehend as to why when a person submits his resignation, the concerned authority of the state did not exercise the two options, which are available i.e. either to accept the resignation or to refuse to accept the resignation,” the order said.

“If this course had not been adopted and if he has been assigned another responsibility equivalent to the responsibility held by them, it would be tantamount to putting a premium. That is what exactly happened in the instant case.”

The bench questioned why Ghosh, as the head of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, had not filed a complaint after the doctor was found dead.

“The principal of the institution either by himself or by issuing appropriate directions could have lodged a complaint with the police since the death occurred within the hospital premises. This, in our view, was a clear dereliction of duty on the part of the principal,” the court said.

The bench also pulled up the police for not recording Ghosh’s statement, before directing him to “proceed on leave”.

“We have advised the learned advocate appearing for Professor Sandip Kumar Ghosh to direct his client to immediately proceed on leave, failing which the Court will be compelled to pass necessary orders. On oral instruction, the learned advocate submitted that his client will immediately proceed on leave. If such an application is submitted, the same shall be accepted and he shall be granted extraordinary leave and not permitted to hold the post of Principal of the National Medical College and Hospital, Calcutta until further directions,” the court said.

The protesting doctors at National Medical College said they would not allow Ghosh to join. Ghosh was the medical superintendent and vice-principal there for four years before being transferred to RG Kar.

“Our college is not a dumping ground. He (Ghosh) cannot be dumped here,” said one of the protesting doctors.

Sources in the state health department said Ghosh had applied for leave of 15 days and it was granted.

“Ajay Ray (the former principal who was supposed to hand over charge on Tuesday) will continue as the principal for now,” an official in the health department said.

But there was no order mentioning that Ray had been reinstated as the principal of the medical college. An order was issued by the health department on Monday mentioning that Ghosh would replace Ray as the principal of National Medical College.