New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday put on hold an order passed by the Calcutta High Court, ordering a probe by CBI into the alleged custodial torture of two women arrested amid protests that took place in West Bengal, in the wake of the rape and murder of a resident doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The matter came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, and advocate Astha Sharma represented the West Bengal government before the bench.
After hearing submissions, the bench, in its order, said: "Meanwhile, the order dated October 8, 2024, passed by the single judge of the High Court as well as November 6, passed by the division bench of the High Court, shall remain stayed. However, the investigation by SIT constituted by the state government shall also be kept in abeyance...".
The apex court said it will reconstitute the SIT under its order and asked the state to furnish a list of seven IPS officers, out of these at least five should be women officers’, who could be included in a fresh SIT that may be tasked with investigating the case.
The state government's plea said: "The substantial question of law involved in the present petition is whether the Single Judge erred in law by directing an enquiry by the CBI into the allegation of custodial torture without any conclusive reasoning as to why the investigation by the State machinery would be influenced or biased, especially when public order (Entry 1) and the police (Entry 2) is a state subject falling in List II of Schedule VII of the Constitution".
The state government's plea contended that the allegation of torture is completely fictitious, as the medical examination reports during the police custody of the two respondents’ would reveal that there was no external injury noticed by the medical officer and the accused-respondents never complained about any injury at the time of the medical examination.
A single judge of the High Court on October 8, had taken a serious view of allegations that the state police had tortured a woman while she was in their custody from September 8-11, after her arrest on September 7. The woman was arrested amid protests that erupted following the RG rape and murder that took place in August this year. The two women arrested in the matter moved a plea before the High Court seeking a CBI probe and compensation on allegations that they were tortured by the state police.
