Kolkata, July 6 : The Calcutta High Court today directed the West Bengal government to file an affidavit within two weeks on the progress of investigation to determine the gender of athlete Pinki Pramanik.
A division bench of Chief Justice J N Patel and Justice S Chakraborty also directed the prosecution to produce a case diary in the matter on the next date of hearing. The Court's direction came in response to a PIL application in the matter.
The Court also directed the petitioner to file a reply to the state's affidavit within another one week. It further directed that the petitioner may file a complaint regarding circulation of a CD or MMS allegedly showing Pinki in the nude.
The state opposed the petition which alleged harassment and humiliation of the Asiad gold medal winning athlete and violation of Constitutional provisions.
Appearing for the petitioner, counsel Bharati Mutsuddi and Ravishankar Chattopadhyay prayed for immediate release of the athlete, claiming it was an illegal detention, punishment to the police officers who were allegedly responsible for Pinki's harassment and show case to the state government for alleged illegal detention of Pramanik.
The retired middle distance runner was arrested on June 14 after she was accused of being a male by her live-in partner, a 30-year-old estranged woman, who also alleged she had been raped.
She is currently in judicial custody till July 12. Pinki, after her arrest, was initially taken to a private nursing home in Barasat under police custody and later to the Barasat General Hospital for gender tests.
Pinki was subsequently sent to the SSKM Hospital where also the gender of the athlete could not be determined as the facility for the chromosome pattern test was unavailable.
The athlete's blood sample was taken yesterday at the SSKM Hospital and sent for tests.
The Eastern Railway middle-distance runner had won a 4x400m relay gold in the 2006 Doha Asiad and a silver in the same event at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Pinki bagged three gold medals in the 2006 SAF Games in Colombo when she won the 400m, 800m and 4x400m relay events.
