RG Kar Case| 'If This Document Is Missing, Something Is Amiss' : Supreme Court Asks West Bengal Police To Produce Postmortem 'Challan'

The Supreme Court on Monday (September 9), while hearing the Suo Motu case taken on the rape and murder of a doctor of the RG Kar Medical College Hospital at Kolkata, asked the State of West Bengal to produce the challan which was sent along with the dead body for post-mortem. The challan would have entries regarding the articles and materials sent along with the body for autopsy, the Court noted.The Court passed the direction after an argument was raised before it by a party that the clothes of the victim-doctor were not sealed and sent to the post-mortem team at the time of autopsy.Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, for the State of West Bengal, submitted that the said document is not present along with the documents produced before the Court today. Therefore, the Court directed the State to produce it on the next date of hearing, Septemberr 17.The bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra today perused the status reports filed by the CBI and the Kolkata Police. The bench noted that the investigation is in progress and posted the matter for further consideration next Tuesday. CBI has been asked to file a fresh status report outlining the new developments.During the hearing today, in response to the queries of the bench, the CBI said that four clippings of CCTV footage of 27 minutes were handed over by Kolkata police.Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, raising certain doubts about the forensic report, said that the CBI has decided to send the samples to the AIIMS and labs 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(Central Forensic Science Laboratory) in West Bengal....and this is the result...the CBI has taken a decision to send the samples to the AIIMS and other CFSLs....who took the samples become relevant," SG said.During the hearing, Advocate Phiroze Edulji, who appeared for the petitioners before the Calcutta High Court, stated that there were several discrepancies in the records and lacunae in the investigation. He raised the following points :(1) The Post-Mortem was conducted after 6 PM, which is contrary to the rules and procedure.(2) The seizure was effected from the crime scene before the FIR was registered at 11.30 PM. This is not legally sustainable. The forensic team can visit the place only after the registration of the FIR as per the new criminal code (BNSS). This means that the investigation has been severely compromised.(3) The vaginal swab was not preserved properly at 4 degree Celsius.(4) The clothes of the victim were not sent along with the body for the post-mortem.Taking note of these submissions, the Court asked Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, for the State of West Bengal, if the challan which sent the body for post-mortem was available. This was after Edulji submitted that the challan would contain remarks if any articles were sent along with the body. When Sibal said that the document was not available in the records produced today, the Court asked him to produce the same on the next date of the hearing. The bench also noted Eduji's submission that the copy of the challan was produced before the Calcutta High Court during one of the proceedings.CJI said that the document was "important because it has a column showing what clothes and articles were sent along with the body. We want to see that."Something amiss if the document is missing Justice JB Pardiwala said, "See the third column on the top, the constable is supposed to carry this (form). It has been struck off. So there is no reference of this challan when the dead body is sent for examination. You need to explain, if this document is missing, then something is amiss.""In the absence of mention in the post-mortem report, the possibility of it having been created subsequently cannot be ruled out," SG said.Sibal said that the post-mortem was conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate and said that the State would file an affidavit.CJI opined that the CBI should ask for this document from the State.Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, for an intervenor, submitted that there was no clarity about the time of death even after a month. However, the CJI said that there is some clarity now on the time of death. At the same time, the CJI added, "there is a delay of at least 14 hours in the registration of the FIR."Grievances regarding CISF accommodation SG Tushar Mehta raised a grievance that the State has not provided nearby accommodation for the three companies of lady personnel of the CISF (which has been asked to provide security cover for the RG Kar hospital by the Court) and that they have to travel about 1.5 hours. Sibal said that nearby accommodation has been arranged which can be handed over today. The Court asked a senior officer of the West Bengal home department and the CISF to liaise regarding the accommodation. Senior Advocate Geeta...

RG Kar Case| 'If This Document Is Missing, Something Is Amiss' : Supreme Court Asks West Bengal Police To Produce Postmortem 'Challan'

Anmol Kaur Bawa

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