Supreme Court Criticizes Delay in Kolkata Doctor’s Rape-Murder Case

Supreme Court Criticizes Delay in Kolkata Doctor’s Rape-Murder Case

Supreme Court Criticizes Delay in Kolkata Doctor’s Rape-Murder Case

Key Highlights:

1. Supreme Court disturbed by delay in registering unnatural death case.
2. Postmortem conducted before the case registration raises serious concerns.
3. Protesting doctors urged to resume work; no adverse action assured.

The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed deep concern over the Kolkata Police’s delay in registering the unnatural death of a woman doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The delay, particularly the timing of the postmortem before the formal registration of the case, was termed “extremely disturbing” by a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.

The postmortem of the deceased was conducted on August 9 between 6:10 pm and 7:10 pm, but the case was only registered as an unnatural death at 11:30 pm on the same day. The Court questioned this sequence, calling it surprising and unsettling.

The bench also directed the Kolkata Police officer responsible for the initial report to appear at the next hearing to clarify the timing of the case entry.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, highlighted the troubling fact that the FIR was not registered until 11:45 pm, after the doctor had already been cremated.

He added that the state police initially informed the victim’s parents it was a suicide before later declaring it a murder, raising suspicions of a cover-up.

In light of the case, the Supreme Court urged doctors who were protesting to resume work, assuring them that no adverse action would be taken upon their return.

The Court emphasized the importance of maintaining public health infrastructure and noted that any further issues could be addressed in court.

The case has sparked nationwide protests, with the body of the junior doctor found with severe injuries inside the hospital.

Following the outcry, the Calcutta High Court transferred the investigation to the CBI on August 13, with the probe beginning the next day.