Supreme Court: '14 hours delay in filing FIR is a serious matter', Supreme Court questions Mamata government

On Thursday, the Supreme Court questioned the Bengal government for filing an FIR 14 hours late in the case of brutality against a doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital. The court asked why there was a 14-hour delay in filing the FIR.

The apex court bombarded the Bengal government with questions on the police's general diary entry of the incident, the entry of unnatural death, and the discrepancies in the time of filing the FIR, calling it a serious matter.

The Supreme Court is hearing the case on its initiative. During the hearing, a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Mishra questioned the Mamata government on the CBI's status report and the documents given by the Bengal government, the entry of the incident in the police records and the discrepancies in police action.

Entry of unnatural death after postmortem

The Supreme Court said that looking at the record it is clear that the entry of unnatural death was made after the postmortem. In contrast, if a postmortem is done then it means that an unnatural death has occurred, then how was the entry of unnatural death made after that? The procedure adopted by the police is not in criminal law.

Justice Pardiwala said that he had not seen such a thing in his 30 years of career. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was advocating Bengal, was seen speechless many times on the questions of the court. When he was unable to answer, the court also said that next time ask a responsible police officer to be present in the court so that he can answer the questions.

Serious allegations on Bengal Police

On the other hand, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was advocating for CBI, also made serious allegations against Bengal Police. He said that CBI had arrived for investigation after five days and by then the crime scene had been changed. Questioning the entire attitude of the police, Mehta said that the parents of the doctor who was the victim of brutality were first told that it was a suicide, then there was a delay in showing the dead body. The most shocking thing is that the FIR was registered at 11.45 pm after the dead body was handed over to the parents and the last rites were performed.

The Supreme Court will hear the case again on September 5

The progress report of the CBI investigation also states that an application has been filed before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) of Sealdah for a polygraphy test of the only accused arrested so far. The Supreme Court has ordered the ACJM to decide on the application by 5 pm on Friday. The Supreme Court will hear the case again on September 5.

Questions raised on the conduct of the Principal

The court once again raised questions on the conduct of the Principal of the hospital. The court said that why did the Principal not register the FIR immediately. Why was there a delay of 14 hours in registering the FIR? When the bench asked the senior CBI officer present in the court about the time mentioned in its status report, the CBI said that the entry of unnatural death and the time of FIR, etc. had been given in the status report based on the case diary handed over to them by the local police.

On the other hand, Kapil Sibal, appearing for Bengal, repeatedly said that he has a chart in which the timeline has been given, the court can see it. He also noted that the entire incident is videographed, a copy of which has been given to the CBI. Protests were held in different parts of the country to protest against the incident and to demand protection for doctors, and complaints were made by the striking doctors on Thursday about action being taken against them. On which the Supreme Court requested them to return to work and if they returned to work, no adverse action or punitive action would be taken against them. The court also said that if doctors do not return to work, how will health services run? The Chief Justice even said that justice and health services can never stop.

Health Secretary to hold a meeting on doctors' safety within a week

The apex court asked the central government to create a portal on which doctors or concerned stakeholders can send their complaints or suggestions which can be considered by the National Task Force (NTF). Not only this, given the concern raised by various associations of doctors regarding their safety, the court has also directed the Center and the states to take immediate measures to ensure their safety. The court ordered the Union Health Secretary to hold a meeting with the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of all the states within a week in which measures should be taken to ensure the safety of doctors.

Politics should not be done in this matter

During the hearing in the court, statements of Trinamool Congress and BJP leaders were cited and blame was put on each other. On this, the court said that politics should not be done in this matter.

Peaceful protests should not be disturbed

When the Bengal government sought the right to control the protesters, the court said that it had not stopped the action as per the law, but at the same time made it clear that peaceful protests would not be disturbed and no adverse action would be taken.

Also Read: Bharat Bandh: Bhopal police on alert regarding Bharat Bandh in protest against SC-ST reservation decision, keeping an eye on law and order