New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday expressed surprise at the West Bengal government for not producing a crucial document related to the RG Kar Medical College rape-cum-murder case, saying that its absence showed that something was amiss in the probe.
The verbal remarks by the three-judges bench led by Chief Justice of Indian (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud was made during a suo-motu cognizance hearing in the case.
“A dead body challan is a form that is filled and sent with the body when it is handed over to forensic examination. It is important because it has a column showing what clothes and articles were sent along with the body. We want to see that,” CJI Chandrachud asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the West Bengal government.
This was after Sibal claimed the documents were not present in the records produced in the court. Even the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) did not have the challan or its copy, following which the bench told the central agency to get the document from the state.
The bench, also comprising justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra, referred to a column in the post-mortem report and observed: “See the third column on the top, the constable is supposed to carry this (challan). It has been struck off. So, there is no reference of this challan when the body is sent for examination. You need to explain, if this document is missing, then something is amiss.”
This prompted Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, to interject: “In the absence of mention in the post-mortem report, the possibility of it having been created subsequently cannot be ruled out.”
Sibal, however, denied Mehta’s charges and said the post-mortem was conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate and the state would file an affidavit on the same. He then assured to produce the document at the next hearing in the court.
Meanwhile, the apex court ordered protesting doctors in West Bengal to resume their duties by 5 pm Tuesday, failing which the state would initiate disciplinary action against them.
“All complaints on safety and security shall be promptly attended to. However, if there is continuous abstaining from work, then disciplinary action can be taken against them and they cannot be oblivious to the general concerns of the community whom they are intended to serve,” it ordered.
Also Read: Case of the missing CBI lawyer: How RG Kar rape-murder accused almost got bail
Advocate alerts court about challan
Earlier, the court’s attention to the challan was drawn by advocate Phiroze Edulji, who appeared for a Kolkata-based chartered accountant. Edulji informed the court that there were discrepancies in the investigation. He pointed out that the post-mortem was conducted after 6 pm, which was contrary to the rules and procedure.
Edulji also claimed that the investigation has been severely compromised and wondered if an First Information Report (FIR) was registered in the morning when the body was found.
He substantiated his arguments by referring to the new criminal procedure code, the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), that makes it mandatory for the forensic team to visit the site, but only after registration of an FIR.
Officially, the FIR was registered at 11:30 pm, while the forensics team had visited the spot in the morning itself. “This means two FIRs were registered in connection with the crime or there was a violation of the procedure,” the lawyer told the bench.
He further contended the clothes of the victim were not sent alongwith the body for the post-mortem and the vaginal swab was not preserved properly at 4 degree Celsius.
Edulji informed the bench that the document was part of the case file that was presented to the Calcutta High Court bench led by the Chief Justice there.
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for another intervenor, submitted that there was no clarity about the time of the death even after a month of the incident.
To this, the CJI responded by saying that there was some clarity now on the registration of an FIR. “There is a delay of at least 14 hours in the registration of the FIR,” the CJI remarked.
Earlier, Mehta had raised doubts about the forensic report, saying that the CBI had decided to send the samples to the AIIMS or a laboratory outside West Bengal.
“When the girl was found at 9:30, she was in a semi-nude condition. There were injury marks on the body. They have taken the samples and sent it to the CFSL in West Bengal…and this is the result.. who took the samples becomes relevant,” Mehta told the bench, while handing over CBI’s status report in a sealed cover.
(Edited by Tony Rai)