Kolkata rape-murder case in SC: Kapil Sibal ‘laughs’ during hearing; video viral

There was a heated moment in the Supreme Court on Thursday (August 22) during the hearing of the case over the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

During the hearing in the apex court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal government, not to laugh.

The Bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was hearing a suo motu case related to the crime at the Kolkata hospital which has led to nationwide protests by doctors.

The "laughter" incident happened in the Supreme Court when Mehta was pointing out “gaps” in registering the FIR by the Kolkata Police.

“Somebody has lost their life. Don’t at least laugh,” Mehta told Sibal.

The video of the incident was widely shared on social media and BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya too shared the clip and termed it “complete insensitivity on display”.

“Complete insensitivity on display. Like Mamata Banerjee, the legal team representing WB Govt, led by former Congressman Kapil Sibal, showed no remorse, whatsoever, for having killed the young doctor twice… Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had to remind Kapil Sibal ‘not to laugh’ (sic),” he wrote along with video on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.

During the hearing, the top court tore into the Kolkata police over the delay in registering the unnatural death of the woman doctor, calling it “extremely disturbing”, and questioned the sequence of events and the timing of its procedural formalities.

Making an impassioned appeal to the protesting doctors across the country, the apex court also asked then to get back to work, saying “justice and medicine” cannot be stopped and moreover, it was issuing all the necessary directions to ensure their safety. It further directed no coercive action against them.