India
‘Missing document’ may not answer Supreme Court question | India News – Times of India
KOLKATA: The “missing document” in the RG Kar The rape and murder case, which the Supreme Court raised in-depth questions about on Monday, traces back to a one-page request written on August 9 by a sub-inspector of Tala police station to the forensic department of RG Kar Hospital for a “magistral autopsy and inquest” with videography in the presence of a “board of doctors”.
The ‘missing document’ was part of the Kolkata Police diary that was handed over to the CBI on August 13 this year.
This application became standard procedure for medico-legal examinations in Bengal in 2020. It states, “Application for medico-legal autopsy should be addressed to the head of the department of forensic medicine for medical colleges and the director of any hospital.” The police officer requesting the autopsy should send the death report, details of injuries and the examination report along with a letter of request for an autopsy.
But this does not answer the Supreme Court’s questions. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud had said, “This document is crucial (for the investigation) and vital as it would have recorded the clothes and gowns worn by the victim at the time of the crime, with which the body was sent for autopsy. It is impossible for the doctor, who is conducting the autopsy, to accept the body without this document.”
The Supreme Court specifically wanted the challan to be used when a dead body is sent for examination (PRB Form No. 54 – see rule 282, WB Form No. 5371). The Bengal government was directed to submit it to the Supreme Court by September 17.
This form – used by the Bengal police and not the Kolkata police – is very detailed, with 10 separate vertical columns. In the last three columns, the investigating officer has to give details of injuries, cause of death and notes on what clothes and articles were sent with the body.
The petition dated August 9 (a copy of which is with TOI) shows that SI Subhas of Tala police Kumar Jha had sent a formal one-pager, approved by his OC, Abhijit Mondalto the Forensic HoD at RG Kar. The subject line read: “Application for Magisterial Postmortem and Inquest of the Dead Body of the Deceased… (word illegible) under proper videography and in the presence of a Board of Directors.”
The requisition refers to the FIR (Tala PS UD Case No. 861/24, Inquest No. 1139/24), the details of the victim and also says that the body of the victim should be handed over to her mother after autopsy. However, the requisition does not have a separate column mentioning what the victim was wearing or what injuries she has on her body.
The ‘missing document’ was part of the Kolkata Police diary that was handed over to the CBI on August 13 this year.
This application became standard procedure for medico-legal examinations in Bengal in 2020. It states, “Application for medico-legal autopsy should be addressed to the head of the department of forensic medicine for medical colleges and the director of any hospital.” The police officer requesting the autopsy should send the death report, details of injuries and the examination report along with a letter of request for an autopsy.
But this does not answer the Supreme Court’s questions. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud had said, “This document is crucial (for the investigation) and vital as it would have recorded the clothes and gowns worn by the victim at the time of the crime, with which the body was sent for autopsy. It is impossible for the doctor, who is conducting the autopsy, to accept the body without this document.”
The Supreme Court specifically wanted the challan to be used when a dead body is sent for examination (PRB Form No. 54 – see rule 282, WB Form No. 5371). The Bengal government was directed to submit it to the Supreme Court by September 17.
This form – used by the Bengal police and not the Kolkata police – is very detailed, with 10 separate vertical columns. In the last three columns, the investigating officer has to give details of injuries, cause of death and notes on what clothes and articles were sent with the body.
The petition dated August 9 (a copy of which is with TOI) shows that SI Subhas of Tala police Kumar Jha had sent a formal one-pager, approved by his OC, Abhijit Mondalto the Forensic HoD at RG Kar. The subject line read: “Application for Magisterial Postmortem and Inquest of the Dead Body of the Deceased… (word illegible) under proper videography and in the presence of a Board of Directors.”
The requisition refers to the FIR (Tala PS UD Case No. 861/24, Inquest No. 1139/24), the details of the victim and also says that the body of the victim should be handed over to her mother after autopsy. However, the requisition does not have a separate column mentioning what the victim was wearing or what injuries she has on her body.
