‘Someone died and you are laughing’, why did the Solicitor General get into a fight with Kapil Sibal in the court…

The Supreme Court was hearing the rape and murder case that took place at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

During this time something happened that two big lawyers got into a fight with each other.

Actually, in this case, senior advocate Kapil Sibal was arguing on behalf of the West Bengal government, while Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was arguing the case on behalf of the CBI and the Centre.

When Tushar Mehta was questioning the negligence of Kolkata Police in the case and the timing of the entry in the diary of the case, Kapil Sibal started laughing.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta got angry at Sibal. Expressing his displeasure at Kapil, he said, “A girl has lost her life in the most inhuman and gruesome manner.

Somebody has died. At least don’t laugh.” To this, Sibal said that everyone agrees that the incident is “tragic and barbaric”.

The courtroom was jam packed when this incident happened. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was hearing the case along with two other fellow judges Justice JB Padriwala and Justice Manoj Mishra.

The court expressed deep displeasure over the delay in investigation and registration of the case by Kolkata Police and ordered to appear with full details at the next hearing.

Earlier, the Solicitor General on behalf of the CBI had alleged in the court that an attempt was made by the local police to hide the rape and murder case that took place at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The Solicitor General said that by the time the case came into the hands of the CBI, things had changed at the crime spot and evidence had been tampered with.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud that senior doctors of the hospital as well as colleagues of the victim had asked for videography and this meant that they too felt something was being hidden.

“We started the investigation on the fifth day. Before that, whatever the local police had collected was given to us. The investigation itself is a challenge as the scene of the crime was changed. The FIR was registered at 11:45 pm after the cremation (of the victim),” he said.

“First, the deputy superintendent of the hospital told the victim’s parents that she was not well. When they reached the hospital, they were told that she had committed suicide…colleagues of the deceased insisted on videography,” Mehta told the bench.

This shows that they suspected a cover-up.” The Solicitor General said when a call was made to Tala police station on the morning of August 9, the doctors informed the police that the victim was unconscious though she had already died.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal government, opposed Mehta’s arguments, saying everything was videographed and nothing was changed at the crime scene.

Sibal said the Kolkata police had followed the procedure in all sincerity and the CBI’s status report was only an attempt to complicate the case. He said the CBI should tell the court what progress it had made in the case in the past one week.

Let us tell you that the body of a trainee lady doctor was found in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The police have arrested an accused in this case. The Calcutta High Court had ordered the investigation of the case to be handed over from the Kolkata Police to the CBI on August 13.

The CBI began its investigation into the case on August 14. The prime accused in the case, Sanjay Roy, has been arrested.

The sword of arrest is also hanging over the former principal of the college, Sandip Ghosh. The CBI has interrogated him in several rounds. Now the court has given permission to conduct polygraph test of a total of five doctors including Ghosh. (With Bhasha inputs)