New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice J B Pardiwala Thursday said the entire procedure followed by the West Bengal police is something which he has not come across in 30 years of his career.
A three-judge bench led by the Chief Justice of India and comprising Justices Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is hearing sou motu the rape and murder case of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. On Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted its progress report on the investigation into the gruesome case.
“One aspect, which is extremely disturbing, (is) the GD (general diary) entry in regard to the unnatural death (of the victim) is recorded at 10:10 AM. At 10:10 AM, the police station was informed of the death. Notwithstanding all this, the securing of the crime scene and other seizure takes place at 11:30 in the night?” the bench observed.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, replied, “No, no….that is why I have got time and this is unfortunate. I will tell you the exact timeline. I have given minute by minute what happened and it is backed by videography”. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, said the timeline should be shared with the CBI and insisted that the state is bound to give everything to the CBI.
The bench noted that GD entry for unnatural death was recorded at 11:30 PM on August 9. Sibal clarified that an unnatural death case was registered in the morning, while referring to the timeline. “The scene of the crime, including inquest seizure and autopsy were carried out mentioning the GD entry…”, noted the bench.
Justice Pardiwala asked Sibal, “Just tell us from your record, at what time post-mortem was performed”. Sibal replied, “6:10 to 7:10 PM”. “When you are taking the body for the post-mortem, was it a case of unnatural death? If it is not a case of unnatural death, why do you have to perform the post-mortem?”, asks Justice Pardiwala.
“When you start performing the post-mortem that means it is a case of unnatural death (UD). Post-mortem starts at 18:10 hours, it comes to an end at 19:10 hours. What is the idea in registering the unnatural death at 23:30 hours?” Justice Pardiwala asked. Sibal replied that it was the FIR, which was registered, and not the unnatural death case.
“UD case was registered at 23:30 hours on August 9, 2024…..according to your record, UD was registered at what time?”, Justice Pardiwala asked Sibal, who replied that UD was registered at 1:45 PM. Justice Pardiwala, citing the CBI status report, asked Sibal how we reconcile the two records. “Post mortem precedes registration of UD… if any officer is present, you may speak to him and tell us. Because if this is the fact then it is something…”, said Justice Pardiwala.
"I have not come across a case like this in my career of 30 years," Justice Pardiwala remarked regarding the procedure followed by the West Bengal police and added that it appears that the state is not following the criminal procedure code.
Justice Pardiwala asked Sibal to make sure a responsible police officer was present in the courtroom, on the next hearing, who had carried out the entire procedure regarding the case. “Can you tell us at what time the inquest panchnama was done…the record reveals that the report which we have in our hands that UD was registered after the inquest panchnama, after post mortem…”, said Justice Pardiwala.
Regarding the procedure, Justice Pardiwala told Sibal, “This is something which even the criminal procedure code does not prescribe. The entire procedure, which has been followed by your police, is something which I have not come across in 30 years…is it true that UD registered at 23:00 hours and that the post-mortem preceded the registration?” Sibal said, “no”.
The bench further queried, who is this assistant superintendent non-medical? Is this person male or female? The bench was informed the person was a female. Justice Pardiwala said her conduct is very doubtful and why did she act in this manner? The hearing will continue in the post-lunch session.
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