Treat Soni Sori in Kolkata, court tells Chhattisgarh

LEGAL CORRESPONDENT

Prima facie injuries do not seem as simple as has been made out to be: Bench

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Chhattisgarh government to get tribal teacher Soni Sori treated in the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata for the injuries she sustained in police custody.

A Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir, H.L. Dattu and C.K. Prasad passed this interim order on her writ petition, alleging she was tortured after she was arrested from Delhi. Prima facie the injuries "do not seem as simple as it was made out," the Bench said and asked the director of the hospital to submit a report by November 15.

On Wednesday, government counsel Atul Jha said there was no objection to Chhattisgarh getting Ms. Sori medically examined in any other State. On Thursday, the Bench, while accepting the State's submission, also issued notice seeking its response to her other allegations.

While the Chhattisgarh police claimed Ms. Sori fell down in a bathroom, the petitioner alleged she was on the verge of death due to torture in custody. Ms. Sori sought quashing of the cases foisted on her and another person, Lingaram, as they refused to give evidence against fellow villagers and make false statements that they were Maoists. She prayed for transferring her case to Delhi and setting up a Special Investigation Team to probe the cases against her.