Kolkata Rape and Murder Case: The West Bengal government, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool Congress (TMC), informed the Supreme Court that 23 people died due to a doctors’ strike over the Kolkata rape case. On Monday, September 9, 2024, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal provided this information during the Supreme Court hearing of a petition related to the Kolkata rape and murder case. He stated that the Bengal government filed a status report mentioning that while doctors were on strike during the protest, 23 patients lost their lives.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), told the Supreme Court that the agency decided to send forensic samples to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The court then directed the CBI to submit a new status report on the investigation by September 17, 2024. It also instructed senior officers from the West Bengal Home Department and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide accommodation facilities for all three companies of the paramilitary force. All necessary security resources for the CISF should be provided immediately.
The Supreme Court scheduled the next hearing for September 17, 2024. Here’s what transpired during the courtroom proceedings:
- Kapil Sibal: The doctors’ strike is ongoing.
- Solicitor General (for CBI): We haven’t received a copy of the Bengal government’s report.
- Kapil Sibal: We’ve submitted the report to the court.
- Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud: Let’s focus on the current status of the investigation.
Kapil Sibal informed the court that 23 people had died.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud: How far is the principal’s house from the college?
- Solicitor General: About 15–20 minutes.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud: When was the unnatural death report filed?
- Kapil Sibal: The report was filed at 2:55 PM, and the death certificate was issued at 1:47 PM.
- Solicitor General: We’ve submitted a chart; please review it. She was like a daughter to all of us.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud: Which diary entry later became the Unnatural Death (UD) case?
- Kapil Sibal: Diary Entry 565, made at 2:55 PM.
The Solicitor General disputed this, stating that Entry 565 is just the medical report. The General Diary (GD) entry was made at 3:30 PM, and the UD was registered at 11:30 PM.
- Kapil Sibal: Between 4:10 PM and 4:40 PM, the magistrate inspected the crime scene.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud: When did the search and seizure occur?
- Solicitor General: Female personnel had to come from distant places. There was no space to keep equipment like metal detectors.
- Kapil Sibal: Due to technical issues, the footage was provided in parts.
- Kapil Sibal: From 8:30 PM to 10:45 PM.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud: Has the CCTV footage from the time of the incident, showing the accused entering and exiting the seminar room, been given to the CBI?
Both Kapil Sibal and the Solicitor General answered yes.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud: Has the CBI received the videography of the search and seizure?
- Kapil Sibal: Yes.
- Solicitor General: We were given only 27 minutes of footage, but the search and seizure lasted from 8:30 PM to 10:45 PM.
- Solicitor General: When the girl’s body was found, she was in a semi-nude state. They sent samples to CFSL West Bengal. We’ll send them to AIIMS and other labs.
- Solicitor General: The sample collection process was also questionable, so we’re re-examining it.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud: We understand the direction of your proposed investigation but won’t comment on it in open court.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud: We’ll postpone the hearing for a week. Please submit a new status report.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud: The next hearing will be on Tuesday, September 17.
- Solicitor General: We’ll also investigate how the samples were collected.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud: We won’t direct the CBI on how to investigate. They should look into all aspects.
There was then a discussion about the central government’s claim that the state government wasn’t cooperating with the CISF.
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- Kapil Sibal: We’ve provided accommodation for two CISF companies. One is 13 minutes away, and the other is six minutes away. We’re arranging for the rest as well.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud dictated the order: The Bengal government says it’s providing accommodation for three CISF companies. We direct that a senior officer from the West Bengal government and a senior CISF officer coordinate with each other. Six buses should also be provided to the CISF.
A lawyer raised an allegation in court that the victim’s parents were offered a bribe and requested an investigation.
- CJI D.Y. Chandrachud: We won’t issue a separate order on this. Everything is within the scope of the CBI investigation.
Another lawyer pointed out that conducting a post-mortem late at night is against the rules.
- Lawyer: Post-mortems aren’t conducted after 6 PM, but here it was done late in the evening. The FIR was filed after 11:30 PM. I’ve never seen such a thing.
- Lawyer: The rules were completely ignored during the post-mortem. Recording only ten GD entries after 2:30 PM raises suspicion. Were these entries made just for appearances?
- Solicitor General: The post-mortem report indicates rape and strangulation. We’re sending samples to another lab.
- Lawyer: The issue is that the doctor who performed the post-mortem didn’t receive the body in the condition it was found.
- Justice Pardiwala questioned the CFSL West Bengal report.
- Solicitor General: He should read the first line to himself.