'How was doctor's autopsy done without formal request': SC's tough question to Bengal govt
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court grilled the West Bengal government on Monday, questioning how the autopsy of a trainee doctor who was r@ped and murdered at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital was conducted without a formal request. This happened after a three-judge panel ordered the CBI to provide a new status report on the probe into the matter.
"Where is the challan of the body when it's handed over for post-mortem?" said Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, told the bench that the challan was not in their records. "It's crucial because this column contains what other material was sent along with the body," he added. He further stated that in the absence of the challan, the post-mortem doctor cannot accept the body. The CBI also did not have the challan.
"How was the post-mortem carried out in the absence of a formal request?" the Chief Justice inquired.
The court also requested clarification on the timing of the unnatural death report in the rape and murder case of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital, which came after the CBI submitted a status report.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, told the bench that the death certificate was issued at 1:47 p.m., while the police recorded the unnatural death at 2:55 p.m.
However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, argued that the report was filed around 11:30 p.m., according to records. The CBI identified the forensics report as a key issue, asking who collected the samples. The agency intends to send samples to Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Reading from the forensics report, Mehta stated, "When the body was recovered at 9:30 a.m., jeans were removed, the body was semi-nude, and there were injury marks on private parts."
The CBI counsel also highlighted irregularities in evidence handling, noting that blood samples were not preserved at the required 4 degrees Celsius, and emphasized the importance of the initial few hours in a rape and murder case.
The Chief Justice said, "That is why we inquired whether you had the entire CCTV footage or not. Who else entered after the accused left?"
Sibal insisted that everything was recorded, with a judicial magistrate as a witness.
At the start of the hearing, the CBI presented the bench with its investigative status report. The judges reviewed the status report, which was presented to them in a sealed envelope.
Sibal further informed the court that 23 people died as a result of the doctors' strike, and the state health agency provided a report on the matter.
The Chief Justice stated, "The status report has been filed by the CBI; it appears that the investigation is ongoing. We direct the CBI to produce a new status report, which we will review on Tuesday... We don't want to guide CBI on its investigation."
- With inputs from agencies
