Supreme Court questions West Bengal Government over unnatural death classification in trainee Doctor’s Rape-Murder Case

On August 22, the Supreme Court continued its scrutiny of the West Bengal government concerning the timeline of events in the investigation of the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The court questioned the classification of the case as an unnatural death (UD) and expressed concern over the sequence and timing of the postmortem and the registration of the UD case.

The bench, hearing the suo motu case, raised doubts about the necessity of conducting a postmortem if the death was not considered unnatural. Chief Justice Chandrachud noted the odd timing, questioning why the postmortem, which began at 18:10 and concluded at 19:10, occurred before the UD case was officially registered at 23:30, followed by the FIR at 23:40. He remarked that such discrepancies suggest something potentially serious.

Additionally, the Supreme Court emphasized the importance of health professionals returning to their duties, assuring that no adverse actions would be taken against them once they resumed work. The bench underscored the critical role of doctors in sustaining public health infrastructure, questioning how the system could function effectively without their participation.

Earlier, on August 20, the court had directed both the CBI and the West Bengal government to submit a status report by August 22 on the progress of the investigation into the mob attack at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.