Justice must not only be done but also appear to have been done

Editorial, EOI, 15 August 2024 : It is an old principle of British jurisprudence that justice must not only be done but also appear to have been done. From that yardstick, the order of a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court entrusting the investigation into the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College Hospital in Kolkata to the CBI is a welcome one. From day one, people have suspected that the Kolkata Police are not handling the case with the sincerity and urgency it deserves. Had the police continued with the investigation, the impression might have spread that there was an attempt to cover up the truth and protect guilty individuals who could be politically or otherwise powerful.

It may be recalled that on the day of the incident, the parents of the unfortunate doctor were informed late, a few hours after the body had been found, whereas the hospital authorities and the police should have informed them forthwith. Then again, when they were informed, they were told that their daughter had committed suicide. When they arrived at R.G. Kar Hospital, the police made them wait nearly four hours before they were allowed to see the body. As the mother of the doctor disclosed on television channels, a glance at the body of her daughter convinced her of the real cause of her death.

It has transpired during the hearing before the High Court that the police had initially registered a case of unnatural death, the usual step taken by the police in suspected suicides, which is most unusual in such circumstances. Police officials, with their trained eyes, should have been convinced at first glance that the lady doctor had been criminally assaulted and murdered. The apparent excuse of the police is that no one had lodged a murder complaint, but this excuse is hardly acceptable. It is also a common practice for the police to register cases suo motu in incidents of heinous crimes. Moreover, there is the serious question of why the hospital authorities had not immediately filed a murder complaint. They were informed as soon as the body had been found, and senior doctors had also gone to the spot and seen the body. It is not acceptable that doctors, with all their training and experience, would have thought it to be a case of suicide. There are reasonable grounds to believe that a delaying tactic was involved, possibly to cover up evidence.

The police were quick to arrest one person on the basis of concrete evidence, one of which was that the headphone of the accused was found at the scene of the crime. The violence with which the lady doctor had been killed and the number of injuries suggest that it was not the act of one person; more people were involved. Under the circumstances, there is ground to believe that the authorities are trying to protect an influential person or cover up a bigger racket in the hospital. Additionally, the man who has been arrested is a civic police officer and part of the police administration, and he was also enjoying facilities out of tune with his rank. It is but natural, therefore, that in this case, common people will not have faith in a police investigation.