2014

SUBMITTED TO:
SUBMITTED BY:
DR. AJAY RANGA SALINA
CHALANA
UILS, PU ROLL NO. 57/10
9
TH
SEMESTER
Historical Development of Forensic Science in India and World.
Introduction
Crime in some form or the other has existed since the beginning of human race. With the
advancement in science and technology the concept of crime as well as the methods adopted by
criminals in its commission have undergone a phenomenal change. On one hand the intelligent
criminal has been quick to exploit science for his criminal acts, on the other hand the investigator
is no longer able to rely on age old art of interrogation and methods to detect crime. In this
context forensic science has found its existence.
he application of science and technology to the detection and investigation of crime and
administration of !ustice is not new to India. "lthough our ancestors did not know forensic
science in its present form, scientific methods in one way or the other seem to have been
followed in the investigation of crime. Its detailed reference is found in Kautilya's
#Arthashastra,$ which was written about %&'' years ago. Indians studied various patterns of the
papillary lines, thousands of years ago. It is presumed that they knew about the persistency and
individuality of fingerprints, which they used as signatures. he Indians knew for long that the
handprints, known as the (Tarija$, were inimitable.
)
he use of fingerprints as signatures by
illiterate people in India, introduced centuries ago, was considered by some people as ceremonial
only, till it was scientifically proved that identification from fingerprints was accurate.
Meaning
*orensic science is the scientific method of gathering and examining information about the past.
his is especially important in law enforcement where forensics is done in relation to criminal or
civil law, but forensics are also carried out in other fields, such as astronomy, archaeology,
biology and geology to investigate ancient times.
%
"ccording to +all ,illon, -he word -forensic. means -pertaining to the law./ forensic science
resolves legal issues by applying scientific principles to them..
1 !", #$!%&'(', Textbook of Forensic Medicine and Texicology:Principle and Practice. 5
)&
E*.,
R++* E,%+-!+$ I'*!( P-). L)*., 2011: D+,&! () .. 2.
2 S&($/(, B.R. 0D$.1, Forensic Science in Criminal Investigation and Trials. 4
)&
E*. U'!-+$%(,
L(2 P34,!%&!'5 C6. P-) L)*, 2012: D+,&!.
2
Historical Development of Forensic Science in India and World.
California Criminalistics Institute defines *orensic 0cience and *orensic 0cientists as, -*orensic
0cience is the application of the methods and techniques of the basic sciences to legal issues. "s
you can imagine *orensic 0cience is a very broad field of study. Crime 1aboratory 0cientists,
sometimes called *orensic 0cientists or, more properly, Criminalists, work with physical
evidence collected at scenes of crimes..
Ancient History
+istory considers "rchimedes as the father of forensic science. +e had found out that a crown
was not made of gold, 2as it was falsely claimed3 by its density and buoyancy. "fter "rchimedes,
another early forensic science application was done by 0oleiman, an "rabic merchant of the 4th
century. +e used fingerprints as a proof of validity between debtors and lenders.
In seventh century 5C, an Indian 6edicine reatise, Agnivesa Charaka Samhita was composed
that laid down the duties and privileges of a physician. It also gave a detailed description of
various poisons, symptoms, signs and treatment of poisoning. Shushruta Samhita was composed
between %'' and &'' ", and its chapters concerning forensic medicine were so carefully written
that they are in no way inferior to modern knowledge on the sub!ect.
&
In the 4''s, the Chinese also used the fingerprint concept. In the )'''s, 7uintilian, a prosecutor
in the 8oman courts, used a similar method to solve murders.
he first document that mentions the use of *orensics in legal matters is the book Xi Yuan Ji
Lu 2translated as -Collected Cases of In!ustice 8ectified.3 written in )%9: by Chinese author
0ong Ci.
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Historical development
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Historical Development of Forensic Science in India and World.
1540s- Pathology:
In the );9'<s the *rench doctor "mbroise =are laid the foundations for modern forensic
pathology through his study of trauma on human organs after he systematically studied
the effects of violent death on internal organs. "lso, two Italian surgeons, *ortunato
*idelis and =aolo >acchia, studied the changes that occurred in the structure of the body
as the result of disease. In the late ):th century, writings on these topics began to appear.
hese included, (A Treatise on Forensic Meicine an !u"lic #ealth$ by the *rench
physician *rancois Immanuele *odere and (The Com%lete System o& !olice Meicine' by
the ?erman medical expert @ohann =eter *rank.
1800s- Toxicology:
Matheiu Orfila is known as the father of modern toxicology. In the early part of the
)Ath century he established in =aris methods of scientific chemical analysis of poison,
which are in use even today.
In India during the nineteenth century, when the cases of death due to poisoning posed a
problem to the law enforcement agencies, a need was felt for isolating, detecting and
estimating various poisons absorbed in the human system. he first Chemical Bxaminer$s
1aboratory was, therefore, set up for this purpose at the then 6adras =residency, under
the ,epartment of +ealth, during ):9A. 1ater, similar laboratories were set up at Calcutta
2):;&3, followed by one each at "gra 2):C93 and 5ombay 2):4'3. hese laboratories
were equipped to handle toxicological analysis of viscera, biological analysis of stains of
blood, semen, etc. and chemical analysis of food, drugs, and various excisable materials
to provide scientific support to the criminal !ustice delivery system within their limited
means.
;
18!0s- "allistics:
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Historical Development of Forensic Science in India and World.
Bugene *rancois Didocq pioneered the first use of ballistics and began taking plaster casts
of shoe imprints. +enry ?oddard at 0cotland Eard perfected the science of ballistics and
pioneered the use of bullet comparison in ):&;. +e developed a comparison
microscope for comparison of crime and test fired bullets to determine whether or not a
particular weapon was used in the offence.
In India in )A&', an "rms Bxpert was appointed and a small ballistic laboratory was set
up under the Calcutta =olice to deal with the examination of firearms.
C
"s the menace of
firearms grew, other 0tate CI,s also established small ballistics laboratories to help them
in the criminal investigation.
18#$- %nthro&ometry:
"lphonse 5ertillon of *rance was first to evolve a scientific system of personal
identification. In ):4A, he developed the science of "nthropometry, a systemic procedure
of taking a series of body measurements to facilitate distinguishing one individual from
another. With the invention of photography, he was the first to use it in criminal
investigation. In )::), he began to take standard pictures of all *rench criminals and file
them in the 5ureau of Identification, then in =aris. +is efforts have earned him the
distinction of being known as the *ather of Criminal Investigation.
In India, while some progress was made in the identification of poisons, the identification
of people, specifically criminals, was still being done in a rather haphaFard manner.
=olicemen would try to memoriFe convict$s face so that they could recogniFe him if he
got involved in another crime later. With the introduction of photography, the Criminal
Investigation ,epartment 2CI,3 maintained records of every known criminal including a
detailed description of his appearance. With the invention of 5ertillon$s anthropometric
system in ):4A, India, along with the other countries of the world, adapted 5ertillon$s
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Historical Development of Forensic Science in India and World.
system of personnel identification and thus an "nthropometric 5ureau, for maintaining
anthropometric records of criminals, was established in ):A% at Calcutta.
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18$!- 'inger&rints:
0ir William +erschel was one of the first to advocate the use of fingerprinting in the
identification of criminal suspects. While working for the Indian Civil 0ervices, he began
to use thumbprints on documents as a security measure to prevent the thenGrampant
repudiation of signatures in ):;:. *rancis ?alton undertook the first systematic study of
the fingerprints. +e developed a methodology of classifying the fingerprints for filing
purposes. In ):A%, he published a book on fingerprints giving a sound statistical proof of
uniqueness of individualiFation through fingerprints.
:
+e had calculated that the chance
of a Hfalse positiveH 2two different individuals having the same fingerprints3 was about )
in C9 billion. @uan Ducetich, an "rgentine chief police officer, created the first method of
recording the fingerprints of individuals on file. In ):A%, after studying ?alton$s pattern
types, Ducetich set up the world$s first fingerprint bureau.
In India, +enry approached the ?overnment to seek approval for replacing the
anthropometric data by fingerprints for the identification of habitual criminals.
?overnment readily agreed, and the first fingerprint bureau in the world was officially
declared open at Calcutta in @uly ):A4, although the collection of record slips had started
a few years earlier. hus, the personnel identification solely on the basis of fingerprints
commenced in India.
1$01- (erology:
Iarl 1andsteiner in )A') discovered that blood could be grouped into different
categories. *ollowing this, in )A)', ,r. 1eone 1attes of Italy devised a relatively simple
procedure for determining the blood group of dried bloodstains and immediately adopted
this technique for criminal investigation.
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Historical Development of Forensic Science in India and World.
In India, when the science of examining human blood developed, it became possible to
examine blood and seminal stains in criminal investigations. 8ealising the importance of
*orensic 0erology, an institute named as (0erology ,epartment< was established in
Calcutta in )A)'.
A
hough the scientific techniques for serological examination were at
the infancy stage, this institute provided valuable scientific support by analyFing
biological materials for crime investigations. "fter independence, the department was
renamed as (Office of the 0erologist and Chemical Bxaminer to the ?overnment of
India<.
1$10- Princi&le of )xchange:
Bdmund 1ocard is responsible for the famous (=rinciple of Bxchange<, which forms the
basis of forensic examination of physical evidence. Its states that -every contact leaves a
trace..
)'
his is also known as the 1ocard Bxchange =rinciple and has formed the
foundation of trace evidence collection and analysis for over a century and still plays a
central role in %)
st
century forensic science.
1$84- *+% &rofiling:
In )A:9, 0ir "lec @effery developed a science of ,J" profiling and found that every
human being has a unique ,J" structure. +e realiFed the scope of ,J" fingerprinting,
which uses variations in the genetic code to identify individuals. he method has since
become important in forensic science to assist police detective work, and it has also
proved useful in resolving paternity and immigration disputes.
In India, in response to the rising demands of providing high technology to the crime
investigation process, the first *orensic ,J" yping facility was established at C*01,
Calcutta, during )AA:. he implementation of this state of the art technique represents
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Historical Development of Forensic Science in India and World.
significant advancements in the forensic biology in the country. he ,J" yping Knit at
C*01, Calcutta is equipped with the most contemporary techniques of ,J" typing,
namely, =olymeriFe Chain 8eaction 2=C83 based method, 1ocus 0pecific 8estricted
*ragment 1ength =olymorphism technique, etc. his laboratory, after being functional,
has been referred many crime cases pertaining to murder, rape, rape and murder, paternity
disputes, organ transplant, exchange of babies in hospitals etc.
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