The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the West Bengal police over lapses in investigating the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College Hospital on August 9. A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was reviewing the suo motu case concerning the shocking incident. The Court questioned the delays in registering the FIR and inconsistencies in the timeline of entries relating to the unnatural death of the doctor.

The bench expressed concern that the crime scene was not sealed until late at night, despite the discovery of the body in the morning. The judges reviewed the status report from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which took over the probe following orders from the Calcutta High Court, as well as the report from the West Bengal police.

Chief Justice Chandrachud questioned Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing the state, stating, “Mr Sibal, something is very disturbing. The GD entry for the unnatural death was recorded at 10:10 am, yet the crime scene wasn’t secured until 11:30 pm. What happened during that time?”

Sibal countered that this information was inaccurate, insisting that all procedures were properly documented through videography. He asked the Court to review a timeline prepared by the state.

Justice Pardiwala then asked for clarification regarding the timing of the post-mortem. Sibal confirmed it took place from 6:10 pm to 7:10 pm. Justice Pardiwala expressed surprise that the case for unnatural death was only registered at 11:30 PM, stating, “This is very surprising, the post-mortem occurred before the unnatural death case was registered.”

Sibal clarified that the FIR was filed at night while unnatural death (UD) case was officially recorded at 1:45 pm. However, Justice Pardiwala pointed out discrepancies between the records and asked Sibal to ensure a senior police officer was present at the next hearing to clarify the issue.

“The entire procedure which your police have followed, I have not come across in my 30 years…” Justice Pardiwala remarked.

He also raised doubts about the conduct of the Assistant Superintendent (Non-Medical), describing her behaviour as questionable.

CJI Chandrachud, reading from the case diary, noted that the unnatural death case was registered only after the officer returned to the police station, after the cordoning off and preservation of the crime scene, which took place only after the post-mortem was performed.

Sibal referred to the post-mortem and inquest reports, and the seizure list, all of which included references to the earlier unnatural death case.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta explained that the General Diary Entry was made at 10:10 am, while the unnatural death case was registered at 11:30 pm, followed by the FIR.

During the hearing, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud questioned the sequence of events in the West Bengal police’s handling of the case. He noted that the inquest report referred to General Diary (GD) entry 861, which was recorded at 11:30 pm, but the inquest itself had been conducted at 4 pm. He questioned how the report could reference a GD case number registered hours after the inquest.

At one point, a counsel mentioned the post-mortem report referencing 150 gm of semen. However, CJI Chandrachud dismissed this, saying, “Don’t use social media to make arguments, we have the actual autopsy report before us and we know what the 150 gm refers to.”

In the afternoon session, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the police were adhering to the procedures outlined in the West Bengal police rules for handling unnatural death cases. But CJI Chandrachud was not convinced, stating that this did not justify the delayed registration of the FIR at 11:30 pm, especially when the body had been discovered in the morning. He also raised questions about the conduct of the Principal of the hospital.

“What is the reason (a) for FIR to be lodged 14 hours of delay; (b) the principal of the college should have supposed to come straight to the college and filed the FIR, whom is he protecting? (c) he had resigned and been assigned another college?,” CJI asked.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that the CBI had requested permission from the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Sealdah to conduct a polygraph test on the sole accused, who has already been arrested. The Court directed the ACJM to decide on the CBI’s request by 5 pm tomorrow.

The bench took note of the status reports from both the CBI and the West Bengal police. Addressing concerns about potential violence during protests, the Court clarified that the authorities could lawfully manage protests but should not disrupt peaceful demonstrations.

The bench also urged doctors to return to their duties and protected them from any coercive action for their absence due to the protests till today. It assured that the National Task Force (NTF) would consider the concerns of resident doctors when making recommendations. The Court directed the Ministry of Health to set up a portal for doctors to submit their suggestions to the NTF.

In an earlier hearing, the Court had established a “National Task Force” led by Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin AVSM, VSM, Director General Medical Services (Navy), to recommend nationwide guidelines to protect medical professionals, particularly women doctors, from systemic safety issues.

The next hearing is scheduled for September 5.