Without displaying any inhibition of any kind and so also without pulling back any punches, we see that the Supreme Court as recently as on August 21, 2024 most strongly castigated, condemned and reprimanded the West Bengal government for its most atrocious mishandling of the investigation into the brutal rape, assault and murder of a lady doctor at RG Kar Medical College Hospital in Kolkata in the seminar hall on August 9 which caught the whole nation napping and exposed the most glaring “chinks in the armour” of even the new laws in which “discretionary bombs” vested in Judges in rape laws and penal laws pertaining to crimes against women have not been defused and we see that there is no mandatory death penalty nor even mandatory life term even for rape and murder of a woman nor for throwing acid on women which deserves zero tolerance! Why we see that even in the “Sections” in “new revised penal laws”, most shockingly there is “or” after life term and so also “or” after death even in most heinous cases of raping and killing and why there is no mandatory death term or even mandatory life term for gang rapes and rapes against even minor girls? How can leniency of any kind be ever demonstrated against such most heinous crimes that pertains directly to the very survival of women in any civilized society?
It must be asked: Why should such “demons” in the form of “men or boys” be protected on ground of age or on any other ground allowing them to behave most cruelly with women and still not hang them on one pretext or the other? Nation must now certainly ponder on it without any more dilly-dallying on it and our Parliament also must deliberate, discuss and debate it threadbare but act most urgently! It brooks no more delay any longer!
It thus certainly merits no reiteration of any kind that these “discretionary, dastardly and dangerous bombs” in rape laws in hands of Judges even in the much publicized “new revised” penal laws definitely needs to be defused at the earliest so that those who indulge in such dastardly crimes are not able to escape the most strictest punishment on one pretext or the other. It must be said that it is high time now and definitely Judges should be now left with absolutely no discretion at all in such heinous crimes so that no one can ever dare to take the “dignity and honour” of women for granted thinking that he would escape with a light punishment on one pretext or the other by using money or muscle power or political power! Supreme Court must intervene now which it is doing and must also direct Centre to further amend even the revised penal laws if Centre does just nothing on it!
It is absolutely in the fitness of things that the Apex Court said that the conscience of the entire nation was shaken by the “horrific and horrendous” incident. While highlighting the alarming inadequacies in the State’s response to the crime, the top court expressed its deepest concern over several instances of “inaction” by the State machinery. We see that healthcare services remain affected at state-run hospitals in West Bengal as junior doctors continued their strike even for the 13th consecutive day over the ghastly crime!
We see that a Bench of Apex Court led by CJI Hon’ble Dr Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud and also comprising of Hon’ble Mr Justice JB Pardiwala and so also Hon’ble Mr Justice Manoj Mishra who took up the matter registered on its own motion (suo motu) questioned senior counsel Kapil Sibal who appeared for the Mamata Banerjee government noting that, “After the crime was detected in the early hours of the morning of August 9, the principal of the hospital tries to pass this off as a suicide. The parents are not allowed to see the body for a few hours… Until late at night no FIR was registered. Why this kind of inaction? What was the principal doing? Why no FIR until late in the evening? And why did the victim’s father have to lodge this FIR? What were the authorities in the hospital doing? Doesn’t autopsy reveal the victim was raped and murdered? Undoubtedly, there is an unexpected delay in the registration of the FIR.” It is high time and police authorities must be held accountable for FIR not being lodged in time and those who refuse to lodge FIR must be dismissed from service and nothing less and in heinous cases of crime who refuse to lodge FIR should be jailed for five years at least! These reforms in the police functioning is the crying need of the hour!
It is worth noting that the Apex Court also wondered aloud stating that, “The hospital is invaded by a mob and critical facilities are damaged. What was the police doing when the hospital was vandalized? The crime scene was within the precincts of the hospital. What were the police personnel doing? They allowed the crime scene to be destroyed. The first thing the police ought to do is to secure the crime scene.”
The billion dollar question that must be asked here is: Why should such police personnel not be given most strictest punishment so that a strong message goes to police that they cannot take their job for granted unlike Army where Centre has launched “Agniveer Yojana” by which many soldiers have to leave Army after few years of service? It merits pondering: Why we see no such Yojana for police where it is needed most? In addition, it also merits introspection that, “Why those police personnel who are guilty of dereliction of duty just suspended for short time or transferred to some other place and that’s all?”
What’s more, it also must be asked: Why they are not most strictly punished for not doing anything to check crime and not punished even for refusing to lodge FIR? Centre needs to definitely deeply introspect on it and why the landmark recommendations suggested by the Apex Court on police reforms made in 2006 in landmark Prakash Singh vs Union of India case still lying unimplemented after 18 years in most of the States? It merits no reiteration that Centre cannot any longer keep on taking all this for granted and do just absolutely nothing for ushering in reforms in police as it has done in defence services in the form of “Agniveer Yojana” which has been sharply castigated also from several quarters yet Centre implemented it boldly! Why we see no such boldness for ushering in reforms in police where it is so desperately needed since 1947!
It must be noted that in the Apex Court, the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the Centre and the CBI which took over the probe following the August 13 order of the Calcutta High Court said that a gathering of 7,000 people could not assemble without the knowledge and the connivance of the police. In its order, the Bench expressed its utter dismay over the abject failure of the police in securing the crime scene. The Bench recorded in its order that, “In the aftermath the brutal incident and the demonstrations which followed, the State Government was expected to ensure the deployment of the State machinery to prevent a breach of law and order. It was all the more necessary to do so since investigation of the crime, which took place in the precincts of the hospital, was under way. We are unable to comprehend how the State was not prepared to deal with the incident of vandalisation of the premises.” Absolutely valid point.
It would be also worthwhile to mention here that the Apex Court directed the Bengal government to file a status report by August 22 which is the next day of hearing on the progress of the investigation into the horrific vandalism that took place most inexplicably in the aftermath of the incident. It also must be certainly underscored that each and every person involved in the horrific vandalism must be identified and prosecuted and punished for trying to destroy the evidence to protect the guilty from punishment under the law! The Bench told the senior counsel Kapil Sibal that, “The State must ensure that those involved in vandalism are acted against and prosecuted.” The State Government role is also under “sharp scrutiny” as police did just nothing at all to control the mob and at whose orders and why huge police was not deployed to ensure that no one tries to destroy the evidence in a case which has garnered not just national but international headlines for wrong reasons!
It is most shocking that during the hearing, senior advocate Aparajita Singh who represented the doctors organization titled “Protect the Warriors” informed the Bench that after the August 14 vandalism incident, the mob returned to the medical college hospital and threatened women doctors warning that they would suffer the same fate as the rape victim if they reported the incident. Aparajita also disclosed that one doctor had emailed a complaint to the police and presented a copy of it to the Bench. It was also added that of the 700 resident doctors, only around 100 doctors remain, while others have left the campus in the wake of the threats.
While taking a serious note of the complaint, the Bench opined that, “This is a very serious issue, Mr Sibal. The West Bengal government cannot be unaware of the fact that when there are protests, opposing groups will always attempt to disrupt them.” It also must be noted that while conveying concern that the mob specifically identified women female doctors by name and threatened them with the same fate as the deceased, the Bench questioned wondering that why the police fled the scene after the mob descended. Should such police be still allowed to continue in service?
In the fitness of things, the Bench very rightly questioned that, “Look at it from a different angle. We are making a fervent appeal to the doctors to resume work to help marginalized and needy people. But if they come back, can these police be trusted to protect them? Who is going to provide security to women doctors?” While taking a serious note of this, the Bench very rightly said that the Court would order the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to secure the hospital and hostel premises. In its order, the Bench noted that, “It is essential to create safe conditions for the doctors to return to their duties so that they can continue their medical education and provide medical care. Accordingly we have been assured by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that CISF will be deployed in sufficient numbers to guard the RG Medical college facilities, including the hostels where the resident doctors are staying. Mr Sibal has no objection, as the goal is to ensure the safety of the premises.” It also further directed that any doctor with safety concerns could send an email to the Registrar (Judicial) of the Supreme Court which is most heartening to note.
It is also most refreshing to note that during the proceedings, the Bench further commendably directed the State Government not to take coercive actions against individuals participating in peaceful protests or expressing their views in the media and on social media. The Bench told the senior counsel Kapil Sibal appearing for the West Bengal State Government that, “Let the power of the State of West Bengal not be unleashed upon peaceful protesters. We must approach this with great sensitivity. We expect the government of West Bengal to exercise necessary restraint in response to peaceful protests conducted by any segment of society concerning the issues related to the incidents in Kolkata.” Very rightly so!
In sum, it is high time and the West Bengal State Government must definitely comply with what all the Apex Court has directed. It also must deeply introspect for being “rapped in the knuckles” by the top court! It must also take strictest action most promptly against the police personnel who are guilty of dereliction of duty and not give them a long rope to escape and make gala at the cost of the lives of the innocents and their safety!
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