(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) A heated exchange unfolded in the Supreme Court on Thursday when Solicitor General Tushar Mehta reprimanded senior advocate Kapil Sibal for laughing during the hearing of the suo-motu case concerning the horrific rape and murder at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. "Somebody has lost their life. Don't at least laugh," SG Mehta sternly addressed Sibal, underscoring the gravity of the case.
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The incident occurred during a crucial hearing in which the Supreme Court expressed its deep concern over the Kolkata Police's delayed response in registering the unnatural death of the victim, a junior doctor whose brutal murder has sparked national outrage.
"Shameless behaviour," noted one irked user on X in the wake of the incident. Another added, "Insensitive Sibal.
The judge is pointing out at the incompetence of the state police to bring justice and Advocate Kapil Sibal is laughing and mocking the whole situation."
"Kapil Sibal also shamelessly blaming father of victim for late FIR registration. How pathetic is he? I have no idea why SC is at least allowing him to name and shame victim parent. This is blood boiling," remarked a third irked user.
A fourth netizen said, "Kapil is a supercilious arrogant man who sides against the victims more often than not."
The bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, termed the police's handling of the case as "extremely disturbing," particularly questioning the sequence and timing of the post-mortem, which was conducted before the case was officially registered as an unnatural death. The post-mortem took place between 6:10 pm and 7:10 pm on August 9, while the police registered the case only at 11:30 pm that same night, a delay that the court found highly suspicious.
SG Mehta, representing the CBI, further shocked the court by revealing that the FIR was only lodged after the victim's body had been cremated, and that the state police had initially misled the victim's family by claiming it was a suicide, only later admitting it was a murder. He also highlighted the victim's friend's suspicions of a cover-up, which led to a demand for the post-mortem to be videographed.
As the proceedings continued, the Supreme Court urged protesting doctors across the country to return to work, assuring them that no punitive action would be taken against them. The court expressed its concern for public health, stating, "How will public health infrastructure run if the doctors do not work?" The bench also emphasized the importance of allowing the National Task Force to address the concerns of all stakeholders involved.
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The tragic case, which has seen widespread protests from the medical community, centers around the brutal assault and murder of a junior doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College. Her body was discovered with severe injuries in the hospital's chest department seminar hall. The Kolkata Police arrested a civic volunteer on August 10, a day after the crime was reported, but their handling of the case has drawn significant criticism.
On August 13, the Calcutta High Court transferred the investigation from the Kolkata Police to the CBI, which has since taken charge of the probe. The Supreme Court has now directed the police officer who registered the first entry about the incident to appear at the next hearing and provide detailed information on the timeline of events.
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