‘Lower Your Pitch…’: CJI Chandrachud Reprimands Lawyer During Kolkata Rape-Murder Case Hearing

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Monday rebuked a lawyer while asking him to lower down his pitch saying if he was addressing the judges or the gallery outside the court.

The incident took place when the three-judge bench comprising CJI Chandrachud, Justice Manoj Misra and Justice JB Pardiwala was hearing the case related to a trainee doctor’s rape and murder at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

During the arguments, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing the West Bengal government said he had videos and photographs to show that the lawyer was throwing stones at a protest over the crime.

This prompted lawyer, Kaustav Bagchi, also a BJP leader, to ask how a senior counsel like him (Sibal) can make such statements in court.

The CJI then said, “Are you trying to address the gallery outside the court? I have been noticing your demeanour for the last two hours.”

He also cautioned the advocate to lower his voice.

“Can you first lower your pitch? Listen to the Chief Justice, lower your pitch. You are addressing three judges in front of you, not the large audience who is watching these proceedings on the video conferencing platform,” he added.

Bagchi then tendered an apology to the court. Bagchi had switched from the Congress to the BJP earlier this year.

Subsequently, as more lawyers started mentioning a variety of issues during the hearing, the CJI expressed his disappointment, saying he is not used to multiple lawyers arguing at the same time.

“I am not used to this kind of advocacy where 7-8 people are arguing at the same time,” he said.

SC Asks Bengal Doctors To Resume Work

The Supreme Court has urged doctors on protest in West Bengal to return to their duties by 5 pm on Tuesday (September 10), and asked the police and the state administration to ensure their safety. The top court, however, has cautioned that the doctors could be liable for disciplinary action if continuous abstention from work continued.

During the hearing, the top court noted that the abstention of doctors for the last 28 days had hit the healthcare system of West Bengal, which submitted in the court that 23 patients died during this period due to the disruptions.

The court had also constituted a 10-member National Task Force (NTF) to formulate a protocol for ensuring the safety and security of doctors and other healthcare professionals.

HOW WAS AUTOPSY CONDUCTED

The Supreme Court also voiced its concern over the absence of a key document that was needed for the postmortem of the victim.

The top court asked the West Bengal government how the autopsy of the trainee doctor was conducted without any formal request. CJI Chandrachud asked, “Where is the challan of the body when it’s handed over for post-mortem?”

SG Mehta informed the court that the challan was not part of their record. “It’s crucial because this column contains what other material was sent along with the body,” he said. He added that doctors can’t accept the body in the absence of the challan. The CBI also didn’t have the challan.

The CJI noted that there was a delay of over 14 hours in the filing of the FIR in the RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case. The remark came after an advocate said that the court doesn’t have the exact time of the death. “There is some clarity on when the body was discovered and the movements around it,” the advocate said.

SC SEEKS FRESH PROBE REPORT FROM CBI

CJI Chandrachud noted the status report filed by the CBI and the ongoing investigation into the case. It directed the probe agency to file a fresh status report in the court by next week with additional inputs. “We will take the case on Tuesday, let’s see what happens now…CBI is doing it, we don’t want to guide CBI on its investigation,” the CJI remarked.