NEW DELHI: Taking exception to a nearly 14-hour delay in registering an FIR following the rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar hospital on August 9, Supreme Court on Thursday peppered West Bengal govt with questions: “Who was the principal in touch with to delay registering a complaint with police? What was he doing all these hours since the incident? Why did police take more than 12 hours to convert the report of unnatural death into an FIR? Why was the crime scene secured only in the evening?”
The questions of a bench of CJI D Y Chandrachud, and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra following their perusal of the CBI status report in the case appeared to echo an allegation that an effort had been made to pass off the incident as a case of suicide and also indicated possible pressure on then RG Kar principal (Dr Sandip Ghosh) to delay a formal complaint to police about the crime.
“The entire process followed by Kolkata police is not prescribed in the criminal procedure code. In my entire 30-year career as a lawyer and a judge, I have never come across such a procedure followed by police for registering an FIR in a rape and murder case,” Pardiwala said.Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Bengal govt, combatively opposed SC’s observations and said cops followed the procedure prescribed in 2018 by then Kolkata police commissioner in such cases. He claimed parents of the deceased kept deferring filing a formal complaint. SC retorted, “That does not justify the delay in lodging of the FIR.”
Sibal said securing the crime scene as well as other steps taken by police were in accordance with the rules and were videographed, thus ruling out any discrepancy. “The question now is what has CBI done in the last seven days of investigations?” he asked.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta countered Sibal, saying the FIR was not lodged even after the body of the deceased was cremated. “First, the parents were informed their daughter was not well, then they were told she had died by suicide and then about her murder. The videography of the events was done only on the insistence of the victim’s colleagues.”
The apex court asked CBI to file another status report in the case by September 5.
The questions of a bench of CJI D Y Chandrachud, and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra following their perusal of the CBI status report in the case appeared to echo an allegation that an effort had been made to pass off the incident as a case of suicide and also indicated possible pressure on then RG Kar principal (Dr Sandip Ghosh) to delay a formal complaint to police about the crime.
“The entire process followed by Kolkata police is not prescribed in the criminal procedure code. In my entire 30-year career as a lawyer and a judge, I have never come across such a procedure followed by police for registering an FIR in a rape and murder case,” Pardiwala said.Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Bengal govt, combatively opposed SC’s observations and said cops followed the procedure prescribed in 2018 by then Kolkata police commissioner in such cases. He claimed parents of the deceased kept deferring filing a formal complaint. SC retorted, “That does not justify the delay in lodging of the FIR.”
Sibal said securing the crime scene as well as other steps taken by police were in accordance with the rules and were videographed, thus ruling out any discrepancy. “The question now is what has CBI done in the last seven days of investigations?” he asked.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta countered Sibal, saying the FIR was not lodged even after the body of the deceased was cremated. “First, the parents were informed their daughter was not well, then they were told she had died by suicide and then about her murder. The videography of the events was done only on the insistence of the victim’s colleagues.”
The apex court asked CBI to file another status report in the case by September 5.
Kolkata Rape & Murder: Supreme Court’s Top Quotes On ‘Horrific’ Incident
