The Supreme Court of India on Monday, while hearing a suo motu petition regarding the rape and murder of a doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit a fresh status report by next Thursday, September 17.
A bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard the suo motu case.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal government, informed the Supreme Court that the state government had filed a status report, and mentioned that 23 people had died while doctors were not working.
The bench inquired whether the footage of the search and seizure procedure, which took place between 8:30 and 10:45 PM, had been handed over to the CBI. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI responded that the central investigative agency had received four clips, totaling 27 minutes in duration.
SG Tushar Mehta raised concerns regarding the deployment of security personnel at RG Kar Medical College.
In response, the Supreme Court directed that a senior officer from the state home department, along with a senior CISF officer, must jointly ensure that all three companies are provided with suitable accommodation in the vicinity of the hospital.
The Court also ordered that all necessary requisitions required by CISF personnel be complied with by today and directed the provision of security gadgets by 9 PM.
During the hearing, questions were raised about the post-mortem report. An advocate claimed that the vaginal swab, which was supposed to be preserved at 4 degrees Celsius, had not been properly stored.
SG Tushar Mehta pointed out that the post-mortem report does not mention the time it was conducted.
He further emphasised that in cases of rape and murder, the first five hours are crucial, and the CBI faced challenges since they began their investigation five days after the incident.
The Supreme Court asked SG Mehta whether there was a letter when the body was dispatched for post-mortem.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal stated that he could not immediately locate the document and requested time to submit it to the court.
