Supreme Court termed extremely disturbing the Kolkata Police’s delay in registering the unnatural death of the woman doctor who was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
It also asked protesting doctors to resume work and assured them that no adverse action would be taken after they rejoin.
Questioning the sequence and timing of legal formalities conducted by police, a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said it was very surprising that the postmortem of the deceased was conducted on August 9 between 6.10 pm to 7.10 pm before the registration of case as unnatural death.
“How was it that the post-mortem was conducted at 6.10 pm on August 9 and yet the unnatural death information is sent to Tala police station at 11.30 pm on August 9. This is extremely disturbing,” the bench, also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said.
It directed the Kolkata Police officer, who registered the first entry about the rape-murder that has shocked the country, to appear in the next hearing and disclose the time of the entry.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, told the top court that the most shocking fact is that the FIR was registered at 11.45 pm after the postgraduate medic was cremated.
“State police told parents it was suicide, then they said it was murder. Victim’s friend suspected cover up and insisted on videography,” Mehta told the bench.
As the hearing commenced, the top court asked protesting doctors to resume work, and assured them that no adverse action will be taken against them after they rejoin. The apex court was told by the counsel for resident doctors at AIIMS Nagpur that they are being victimised for protesting over the Kolkata rape-murder case.
“Once they get back to duty, we will prevail upon authorities to not take adverse action. How will public health infrastructure run if the doctors do not work?” the bench asked. “If there is difficulty after that, come to us but let them first report to work,” it said.
The top court said its heart goes out to all patients visiting public hospitals. It assured doctors’ associations that the National Task Force will hear all stakeholders.
The brutal assault and murder of the junior doctor has sparked nationwide protests.
Her body was found with severe injury marks inside the seminar hall of the state-run hospital’s chest department. A civic volunteer was arrested by the Kolkata Police in connection with the case the following day on August 10.
A tough talking Supreme Court tore into the Kolkata police over the delay in registering the unnatural death of the woman doctor, who was raped and killed at the RG Kar Hospital, calling it “extremely disturbing”, and questioned the sequence of events and the timing of its procedural formalities.
Making an impassioned appeal to the protesting doctors across the country, the apex court also asked then to get back to work, saying “justice and medicine” cannot be stopped and moreover, it was issuing all the necessary directions to ensure their safety. It further directed no coercive action against them.
The strong reprimand of the Kolkata police by the top court in which a three-judge bench highlighted its “lapses” in its probe came even as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, said there was an attempt to cover up the case by the local police as the crime scene was “altered” by the time the federal agency took over the probe.
Resident doctors at AIIMS, Delhi, and RML Hospital announced on Thursday that they were withdrawing their 11-day strike, called to protest against the rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata, following an appeal from the Supreme Court.
The apex court earlier in the day asked the protesting doctors to resume work and assured them that no adverse action would be taken after they rejoin.
“We are resuming duties following the Supreme Court’s appeal and assurances and intervention in the RG Kar incident and the safety for doctors. We commend the court’s action and call for adherence to its directives. Patient care remains our top priority,” the Resident Doctors’ Association, AIIMS, New Delhi, said in a post on X.
The resident doctors’ association of RML Hospital said in a statement that “given the Supreme Court’s intervention and the progress made in addressing their demands”, they would resume their duties from 8 am on Friday.
The strike is being suspended in response to the Supreme Court taking suo motu cognisance of the case and the transfer of the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), it said.
