"Don't Use Social Media For Arguments": Chief Justice DY Chandrachud To Lawyer In Kolkata Case

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday debunked the "151 mg semen" theory in the Kolkata rape and murder case and told a lawyer to not rely on social media for arguments in court.

Chief Justice Chandrachud's rebuttal came while he was heading the three-judge bench that was hearing a suo motu case regarding the 31-year-old doctor's brutal rape and murder at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital on August 9. 

During the hearing, one of the lawyers said that the PMR (post-mortem report) talks about 151 mg (milligram) of semen, it is in mL (milliliter)."

To this, Chief Justice Chandrachud replied, "Don't confuse this. Don't use social media to make arguments in court. We have specifically now the post-mortem report before us and we know what that 151 refers to. Let's not use what we read on social media and make legal arguments on that basis."

There were reports earlier that claimed that 150 mg of semen was found in the victim's body, thereby suggesting gangrape. The source of this information was the petition filed by her family in the Calcutta High Court. 

Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal, however, had denied such reports.

"Someone said 150 gm semen is found. I don't know where they have found this kind of Information. And it is circulating in media in all kinds of forms. People are tempted to believe it and they are trying to create confusion among the people," Mr Goyal had told a press conference.

Supreme Court Raps Kolkata Police 

The Supreme Court also criticized Kolkata Police for their "extremely disturbing" delay in registering the case of a woman doctor who was raped and killed at RG Kar Hospital.

The bench headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud, with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, questioned the 14-hour delay in filing the first information report (FIR), and the reasons behind it. 

It also scrutinized the sequence of events and timing of procedural formalities.

"Who was in touch with the principal of RG Kar Medical College? Why did he delay the FIR? What was the purpose?" the bench asked.

The Supreme Court is hearing a bunch of petitions relating to the rape and murder of a doctor at the state-run hospital. The victim, a postgraduate trainee doctor, was found dead in the seminar hall of the hospital on August 9. Medical examination has confirmed rape.

Kolkata Police arrested an accused, a civic volunteer named Sanjoy Roy, a day after the incident. However, days later, the Calcutta High Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), noting no significant progress in the city police's probe.

The CBI is yet to make any arrests in the case.