Calcutta High Court on Monday expressed its dissatisfaction over the delay in the trial of the Sushil Pal murder case and directed the Howrah sessions judge?s court to complete the hearing in six months.

A division bench of the court, presided over by Justice A. Talukdar, dismissed the plea of Biswanath Agarwal, one of the accused, who challenged the investigating agency?s decision to add charges against him under Section 302 (murder) along with 120B (help in committing murder).

Biswanath was arrested but was later released on a bail by the Supreme Court. Of 13 accused, seven, including a doctor Biswajit Bhattacharya, are behind the bars.

In 2004, the body of Pal, a gynaecologist at a Serampore hospital, was found in a canal at Sankrail, in Howrah.

Initially, police had arrested Biswanath and three others for helping the culprits commit the murder. But in between, the investigating agency brought in murder charges against the four accused including Biswanath.

The CID said Pal was killed for allegedly refusing to carry out an abortion.