Kolkata’s monster cannot be hanged in 15 days, Didi’s letter to Modi is politics of swindling

New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is facing criticism from all quarters in the case of rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College, has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the letter, she has appealed that to ensure speedy justice, the hearing in such cases should be completed within a maximum of 15 days. She said that 90 cases of rape are reported every day in the country, this is a very frightening situation. On August 9, the body of the junior doctor was found in the seminar hall of the hospital. Due to the lax attitude of the police and administration, Mamata is on the target of the opposition.
Mamata Banerjee, who is surrounded by the incident of brutality, has written a letter to PM Modi, drawing attention towards the increasing incidents of crimes against women in the country and has written that there is a need to bring a central law to stop these crimes, so that the people involved in such crimes can be given severe punishment. Let’s understand from the experts.

Why is Mamata talking about central law now?

Mamata said in the letter, a strict central law should be made for such heinous crimes, in which the proposed law should also set up a fast track special court for quick hearing in such cases. In fact, the Supreme Court, which took suo motu cognizance of the matter, has also reprimanded the Mamata Banerjee government. The Supreme Court also raised many questions on the attitude of the police of the Mamata government. Especially the delay in the FIR and how did a crowd of thousands gather at the crime scene? Why was the evidence not protected?

Supreme Court takes suo motu cognizance of Kolkata doctor case, CJI Chandrachud’s bench will hear it

The accused has to submit all the documents before the trial

Supreme Court advocate Shivaji Shukla says that when the chargesheet is filed, the chargesheet and all the evidence collected with it will be provided to the accused. This rule was in Section 207 of the Indian Penal Code. The accused is asked to check whether all the documents are available or not. After his/her consent, the chargesheet of the case is filed in the court. If this case is not a POCSO matter, then first the chargesheet will be filed with the magistrate. After this, he/she will refer the case to the Sessions Court for trial, where it will be heard.

Investigation begins with the FIR

First of all, when an FIR is registered, the police investigates the case. After the investigation is complete, the police files a charge sheet in the court. It tells the court that we have completed the investigation in this case and prima facie evidence has been found against the accused. From this, it can be said that the accused has committed this crime.

Police investigation should be completed in 60 to 90 days

According to Advocate Shivaji Shukla, this police investigation should be completed in a maximum of 60 days in case of normal crimes i.e. cases with less than 7 years of punishment. Whereas, in heinous or rare cases i.e. cases with more than 7 years of punishment, this police investigation should be completed in a maximum of 90 days.

What will happen if the investigation is not completed in 90 days

According to Advocate Shivaji Shukla, every accused has certain rights. If the investigation in a case is not completed in 90 days, then the accused has the right to get bail. For this, he/she has to apply in writing. It is the right of the accused that he/she should be released under all circumstances. In such a situation, even the judge does not have discretionary power. he/she has to grant bail to the accused. No matter how heinous the case is.

Why is a copy of the evidence given to the accused

As soon as the charge sheet is filed in the court, all the documents are provided to the accused. The accused is given a copy of the evidence so that he/she can defend himself in the court through a lawyer. For this also, the accused can be given 2 days or 4 days. The hearing in this case starts only when everything is okay from his/her side. In this case, first of all the government lawyer or public prosecutor tells the court the whole thing about the accused. According to the report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), crimes against women are increasing day by day in the country. A total of 4,45, 256 cases of crime against women were registered in 2022, which is 4 percent more than in 2021. That is, every hour 51 women were subjected to crime.

If the accused confesses his/her crime in court, he/she is punished immediately

If the accused confesses his/her crime during the hearing in the court, the court immediately sentences him/her. There is no further hearing in this case. There is no debate. If the accused’s lawyer succeeds in telling the court that the allegations made in the charge sheet are not correct and the evidence is not according to the charge sheet, then the court discharges the accused.

What is the difference between acquittal and discharge

If the chargesheet has been filed and during the hearing of the case, the statements of the witnesses and the evidence of the police fail to prove the accused guilty, then the court acquits the accused. On the other hand, after the chargesheet is filed, before the hearing, if the court says after looking at the evidence that these evidences are useless and no hearing can be done on their basis, then the accused is released, which is called discharge in the language of the court. Discharge in the session court happens only in rare cases, because in most of the cases the accused does not accept the charges.

Why does the trial take so much time?

Shivaji Shukla says that after the charge is framed, the hearing begins when the accused refuses to accept it. After this, all the witnesses in the case are called one by one. Suppose a witness falls ill, he/she will be called again in the next hearing. If the number of witnesses is not more than 4-5, then the trial can be completed in 30 days by hearing the case daily. But, completing the trial in 15 days is not possible at any cost. In the Kolkata case also, it may take a lot of time to call the doctors, hospital staff and all the witnesses related to this case to the court and take their testimony. Anyway, CBI investigation and SIT investigation are going on in this case, so it may take a lot of time.
In the Kolkata doctor case, CJI’s sharp questions will definitely hurt Mamata Banerjee, what should she not have done?

Will this case now be heard in the Supreme Court?

According to Advocate Shivaji Shukla, the entire hearing of the Kolkata doctor case will be held in the Sessions Court. This does not happen in the High Court or Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the case, it will just keep an eye on it. This means that the Supreme Court will see whether the case is being investigated properly or not. If the trial of the case is not happening in the Sessions Court in Kolkata, then it can transfer this case to the Sessions Court of another state. But, the trial will happen in the Sessions Court only. Just like the hearing of the Godhra case was shifted from Gujarat to Delhi.

Where will the appeal against the sessions court be

If a session court pronounces a sentence in a case, an appeal can be made against it in the High Court. In a way, there is no appeal. It is a special leave petition, which becomes an appeal after the High Court accepts it. If the High Court also approves the sentence, an appeal against that decision can be made in the Supreme Court. However, the High Court itself decides whether the convict’s appeal is worth sending to the Supreme Court or not.