Why Did the Court Reject the Victim’s Parents' Request to Survey the Crime Scene in the R.G. Kar Case?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- The court denied the victim’s parents' request for a crime scene survey.
- Higher court options are available for the victim’s family.
- CBI had no objections to the parents' inquiry.
- Concerns were raised about evidence tampering.
- Justice must balance thorough investigation with legal protocols.
Kolkata, July 9 (NationPress) A lower court in Kolkata has denied a request from the parents of the victim in the R.G. Kar rape and murder case to conduct a survey of the crime scene. The judge stated that permitting the parents of the deceased woman doctor to examine the crime scene would essentially allow for a parallel investigation into the matter.
He emphasized that, for this reason, no lower court could approve such a request.
Nevertheless, the judge mentioned that the victim’s parents have the option to appeal to a higher court, which possesses the authority to entertain such petitions.
Initially, the victim’s parents sought permission from a single-judge Bench of the Calcutta High Court to visit the crime scene. During that hearing, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) indicated that their Investigating Officers had no objections to the parents visiting the location.
However, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh of the single-judge Bench suggested that the parents first return to the trial court in Kolkata, which had sentenced the sole convict, civic volunteer Sanjay Roy, to life imprisonment earlier this year.
Throughout the hearings regarding the permission to survey the crime scene, counsel for the West Bengal government raised objections, as did the lawyers representing the former principal of R.G. Kar, Sandip Ghosh, and Abhijit Mondal, the former officer-in-charge of the Tala Police Station, both accused of tampering with and manipulating evidence in the case.
Ultimately, on Wednesday, the trial court dismissed the victim’s parents' request, and the judge questioned why the CBI, as the primary investigative body in the case, did not challenge the request.