Such a commission is empowered to summon and to enforce attendance of ‘any person’ from anywhere in India in order to examine the person under oath.
“What Bengal thinks today”, famously said Gopal Krishna Gokhale, “India thinks tomorrow”. But that was more than one hundred years ago. Does rest of India still think the way West Bengal does today? Take for instance the role of the West Bengal state government while handling gruesome murder of a 31-year-old doctor in the government-run R.G. Kar hospital on 9th August night. Will other state administrations take the hint and act accordingly? A move that made Justice Pardiwala lamenting that in his 30 long years of legal life he never had seen such a handling of a case by police.
The case is now with the CBI. The agency is busy using its creative talent in recreating the crime scene which has methodically been spoiled by the hospital and state administration. What is more, even truckloads of hooligans were brought in to remove any trace of crime that escaped attention of the hospital and police authorities. Even the state’s PWD workers were brought in to break a part of the crime spot and contaminate it to challenge any investigative agency. The desperation of the hospital, health and police authorities in erasing any evidence is concerning the civic society.
Can CBI fabricate the crime scene and find prosecutable evidence against the perpetrators? Any avid reader of criminology including the ace fictional investigators we know of—Holmes, Byomkesh, Father Brown, Feluda or Poirot—would surrender before the ingenuity of the state. The “Scotland Yard” of Kolkata, aided and advised by hospital honchos, have created a trap for CBI to sink its reputation at RG Kar Hospital. Senior advocate Bikash Bhattacharya, who represents the victim’s family, too is aware of the difficult task the investigator, and he as prosecutor, are staring at.
This brings to the fore the allegations of misuse of constitutional provisions by the administration as was clear in handling the RG Kar murder by the West Bengal administration. There are many—from finding the body that is officially “finding” the murdered doctor, informing her parents, contaminating the crime scene, spreading fake information, pretension of post-mortem and finally snatching the body for hasty cremation—all will remain as text book cases of how to hide a crime by the administration. Not only the heads of the college and hospital were involved even the city’s Police Commissioner joined in actively. Not to be left out, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her inimitable manner took part in spreading misinformation. Her party elements even attempted to bribe the crestfallen parents with Rs 10 lakh to buy peace. There are enough indirect evidences of complicity of the entire state administration in the shocking murder of the young doctor in her workplace.
A democratic system stands on every institution performing its allocated responsibilities sincerely. Sadly, in Kolkata, all—police, hospital administration and their political master—worked in unison to conceal the crime of killing the innocent doctor. Can CBI call the Chief Minister, Kolkata police commissioner and other politicians who reportedly came to the crime spot even before the incident became a public knowledge? According to India’s ace jurist Harish Salve in the case like in Kolkata the Commission of Enquiry Act needs to be used.
The Act empowers the appropriate Government—Centre in this case—to appoint a Commission of Enquiry “for the purpose of making an inquiry into any definite matter of public importance”. A resolution to this effect can easily be passed by both the Houses since any political party, barring Mamata’s Trinamool, will oppose the move to its peril. Currently, the Houses are adjourned but can be summoned for passing the special resolution.
Such a commission is empowered to summon and to enforce attendance of “any person” from anywhere in India in order to examine the person under oath. Both the Chief Minister and her police chief can then be summoned to get quizzed by lawyers and explain their conduct. The report of the commission has to be placed before Parliament. Based on the report, if necessary, there can be President’s Rule imposed in the state. Supreme Court, in such a case, will endorse imposition of Article 356. Harish Salve feels in case of West Bengal incident only such a commission can expose the political leaders and the senior administrative functionaries for their dereliction of duties.
The use of this tool along with CBI inquiry as ordered by the court will send shivers down the spines of law enforcing agencies who have been busy flouting their constitutionally ordained responsibilities under instruction of their political masters. Since the entire process will be under the watch of the Parliament even political parties opposed to the ruling NDA will not oppose the resolution. In any case barring the ruling TMC all political forces in West Bengal are critical of the state administration. Even within TMC there are voices of dissent. Mere criminal investigation by CBI will not expose the heinous role of elected representatives in flouting their Constitutional responsibilities.
Unless the Union rises to the occasion and adopts appropriate measures to tame such tendencies among regional political leaders the very foundation of India as a nation will shake and eventually crumble. It is time for Parliament Members to wake up and prove Gokhale wrong. Mamata Banerjee has exposed the weakness of our democratic system by her audacious handling of the RG Kar murder case. The Central government led by Narendra Modi is a nationalist government and must act forthwith.
Sugato Hazra is founder of Poliminds Consult, a content agency for aspiring and practising politicians.