Cal HC orders second post-mortem of two bodies after kin question autopsy report

KOlkata, The Calcutta heights margaret court has ordered a indorse post-mortem of the deadened bodies of deuce persons in connection with a case at Khejuri police station in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district, holding that a second opinion will aid the investigation. The two men, one in his 60s and the other a 23-year-old, were claimed to have died on July 12 after an electric pole fell on them when they were visiting a fair at Khejuri. Their family members, however, alleged that they were murdered there. A division bench presided by Justice Debangsu Basak ordered a second post-mortem of the two dead bodies, observing, "It will also address the doubts raised by the appellants." Directing that the second post-mortem examination be conducted at the state-run SSKM Hospital here, the court asked its superintendent to constitute an "appropriate team" for the purpose. The division bench, also comprising Justice Prasenjit Biswas, directed in its judgment last week that the post-mortem be conducted under the supervision of the jurisdictional judicial magistrate. The court said the reports of the second post-mortem of the two dead bodies should be kept in a sealed cover, which will be collected from the superintendent, SSKM Hospital by the Purba Medinipur SP. The plea for the second post-mortem made by two petitioners – the relatives of the deceased – was not allowed by a single bench of the high court, following which they moved separate appeals before the division bench challenging the order. The dead bodies have been preserved following the first post-mortem. The police, which earlier treated the case as that of unnatural death, had registered FIRs after the relatives of the deceased persons alleged they were murdered, the court noted. The petitioners claimed that the post-mortem reports do not specify the actual cause of death, and the autopsy surgeon failed to note the essential features appearing on the body of the deceased, who were claimed to have died at the same place on that day. The advocate appearing for an appellant contended that the post-mortem report does not take into account the nature of injuries found on the body of one of the victims. The petitioners, submitting photographs of the dead bodies, claimed that the injuries appearing on the body of one were not noted in the post-mortem report. Their lawyers submitted that a second post-mortem is required in order to unearth the truth. Opposing the prayer, Advocate General Kishore Dutta, representing the West Bengal government, argued before the court that if requests for a second post-mortem are accepted, it would lay down a dangerous precedent. He contended that consequent upon complaints lodged by two complainants in respect of the two deceased, police registered two individual FIRs and are conducting investigation of murder. Dutta stated that the investigations are yet to be concluded. Ordering a second post-mortem of the two dead bodies, the division bench observed that the explanation offered by the autopsy surgeon recorded in his statement under Section 180 of the BNSS "is a judgement call which he took at the material point of time". "Without casting any aspersion as to the quality of his judgement call or to the quality of the investigations so far undertaken, since the two bodies are still available, a second opinion can be obtained," the bench said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.