Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today highlighted the absence of a crucial document during the post-mortem of the victim in the Kolkata doctor’s rape and murder case, raising significant concerns. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud questioned the whereabouts of the challan, which is essential for conducting a post-mortem. The missing document has sparked suspicion, with the court requesting further clarification.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, informed the court that he could not immediately locate the document but promised to provide it at the next hearing. The inquiry began after a lawyer asked whether the victim’s clothes were presented during the autopsy, leading the Chief Justice to question the documentation involved when the body was handed over for examination.
“It is important because the challan includes a column listing the clothes and articles sent with the body,” Chief Justice Chandrachud remarked. He further explained that the post-mortem team would not typically proceed without this document, raising doubts about its absence.
Justice JB Pardiwala, who was also part of the three-judge bench alongside Justices Chandrachud and Manoj Misra, pointed out discrepancies in the post-mortem report. “There is no reference to the challan when the body was sent for examination. If this document is missing, something is amiss,” he said. The bench has requested the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to inquire about the missing document and report back.
An advocate appearing before the court claimed that the document was previously submitted to the Calcutta High Court during earlier proceedings. However, the Solicitor General raised concerns about the possibility of the document being created after the fact, further complicating the situation.
Sibal refuted these claims, assuring the court that “nothing is being created subsequently” and promising to file an affidavit with the necessary documentation. The Supreme Court has directed that a copy of the filled form be submitted at the next hearing.
The Supreme Court has also asked the CBI to submit a fresh report on the case by next Tuesday. The central agency highlighted the forensic report, noting that the issue of “who collected the samples” has become a key question. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that samples had initially been sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in West Bengal, but the CBI has now decided to send them to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for further analysis.
Mehta further noted that the victim’s body was found in a semi-nude state with her jeans and undergarments lying nearby, and injury marks were visible. “Person enters, girl is nude, and this is the result of the forensic examination. So who took the samples is relevant,” Mehta added.
Another key issue raised during the hearing was the 14-hour delay in filing the First Information Report (FIR) after the body was discovered. Chief Justice Chandrachud expressed concern over the delay, stating, “It is very clear that there is a delay of almost 14 hours in recording the FIR.”
