Kolkata: The Supreme Court of India on Monday, while addressing a suo motu petition concerning the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to present a new status report by the following Thursday, September 17.
Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, presided over the hearing of the suo motu case.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, reported to the Supreme Court that the state had submitted a status report, noting that 23 individuals had perished amidst the doctors’ strike.
The bench questioned if the CBI had received the footage from the search and seizure operation conducted between 8:30 and 10:45 PM. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, confirmed that the agency had obtained four video clips, with a combined length of 27 minutes.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court mandated that a senior official from the state’s home department, together with a senior CISF officer, must ensure proper accommodation for all three companies near the hospital.
The Court also decreed that all requisitions by the CISF personnel must be fulfilled immediately and ordered that security devices be provided by 9 PM that day.
Questions regarding the post-mortem report surfaced during the hearing. An advocate contended that the vaginal swab, required to be preserved at 4 degrees Celsius, was improperly stored. SG Tushar Mehta highlighted that the post-mortem report failed to specify the time of the procedure.
He underscored the significance of the initial five hours in rape and murder investigations, pointing out the CBI’s difficulties in commencing their inquiry five days post-incident. The Supreme Court inquired of SG Mehta about the existence of a dispatch letter for the body’s post-mortem.
