CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

ACADEMY

SCIENTIFIC AIDS TO INVESTIGATION

FUNDAMENTALS
OF
FORENSIC SCIENCE
(VOL. - I)

A Hand Book for Investigating Officers

KAMLA NEHRU NAGAR, HAPUR ROAD

GHAZIABAD

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 Scientific Aids to Investigation

Fundamentals of Forensic Science

Volume - I
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONTENTS
1.
Forensic Science - Introduction , History - 1 and Divisions - 2

2.
Medical Jurisprudence - An Introduction Scope and Importance/4

Forensic Science Vs. Forensic Medicine, Importance. 4

Scope and importance of Forensic medicine to Police. 5
Importance of Scientific Evidence. 6
Importance of Medical Jurisprudence.6

3
Medico-legal procedure and few legal terms used/7

4
Forensic Science Laboratories and other expert
institutions and their utilisation in Police work/16

Introduction.16
Various Divisions, Ballistic Divisions.18
Biology Division. 18, Chemistry Division 19
Document Division. 19, Lie Detection. 20
Physics Division 20
Serology and DNA Profiling.20 , Toxicology. 21
GEQD. 22

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 Finger Print Bureaux. 23

5
Role of Investigating Officers, Forensic Experts and Medico-
Legal Experts in Crime Investigation/25

Introduction.25
Role of Investigating Officer 25
Role of Forensic Experts. 26
Post-mortem examination & role of medico-legal expert. 27
Cause of death 27

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Scene of crime and physical evidence/29

What is scene of crime.29

How to protect. 29
What is physical evidence, sources.31
Significance of physical evidence. 31
Value of physical evidence. 32
Collection and preservation of Physical Evidence. 33
Chain of Custody. 33
Objectives of Crime Scene Investigation 34
Importance of Scene of Crime. 35
Basic requirement of a good crime scene Investigator. 35
Method of searching. 38
Contamination. 39

7
Method of collection of Physical Evidence./40
Blood./40
Documents. 40

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 Finger Prints, Fire Arms. 42
Glass. 43
Hair, Liquid, Paint flakes. 44
Tools, Tool marks, soil samples etc. 46

8
Establishing identity of living subjects./46
Requirement of Identification. 46
Data useful for Identification. 47
Requirement of Determination of Age. 47
How to determine Age. 49
Procedure for determination of Age. 51
Other characteristics. 51

9
Method of Establishing identity of dead persons/53
Purpose. 53
Corpus delicti. 54
Factors helping identification. 55
Data useful for identification, Visual and physical 56
Scientific methods of determining identity. 59
Dactylography. 59
Photographic super-imposition. 59
Portrait Parley. 59
X-rays. 60
DNA Profiling. 60

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Guidelines for Investigators/61
On first arrival at scene of crime. 61
Evidence collection stage. 61
Precautions. 62

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 Preliminary Examination. 62
Inspection of Dead body. 63
Inspection of Scene of crime. 63

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Law relating to Experts and Scientific Evidence/73
Who is an Expert. 66
Sec. 45, Indian Evidence Act. 66
Sec. 73, Evidence Act. 67
Sec. 293 Cr.PC. 67

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 FORENSIC SCIENCE - INTRODUCTION, HISTORY AND DIVISIONS

Forensic Science is application of basic sciences to criminal justice system. The

basic sciences like physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, statistics etc. are utilized
to identify or compare physical evidence in the investigation of crime. The term
'Forensic' is derived from the Latin word 'forensis' which means 'belongs to courts of
justice' or 'to public discussion and debate'. With the advancement in science and
technology, the nature of crime and modus operandi adopted by criminals have
undergone a sea-change. The barbaric and uncivilized ways to third degree methods of
detecting crime have to place in a civilized society. The good and reliable eye-witnesses
are hard to come by and if available, they are not always reliable, as they are
susceptible to coercion, memory lapse, sympathetic leniency, fear psychosis and threat
perceptions etc. It is in this context that the police and the investigators have to rely on
proper, reliable and legal ways of collecting physical evidence using scientific
techniques. Thus, the police and investigating agencies have to rely on Forensic
Science. Its development has provided a powerful tool in the hands of law enforcement
agencies and the judiciary in combating the sinister and manipulative designs of the
criminals.

Thus, Forensic Science is a scientific discipline which is directed to the

recognition, identification, individualization and evaluation of physical evidence by the
application of the principles and methods of natural sciences for the purpose of
administration of criminal justice. It is known as "Criminalistics' in the U.S.

History

The development of Forensic Science started rapidly in the middle of the 19th
Century. The forensic science was made popular in a series of books written by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle in which the exploits of Sherlok Holmes and his assistant Dr.
Watson are legendary. These works had great impact on criminal lawyers, scientists,
judiciary etc. The importance of reliable objective and impartial evidence, as against the
conventional oral testimony of unwilling, hostile and unobservant witnesses has been
realised by the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. Most of the pioneering work
in the field of Forensic Science originated from the European countries, some of the
great personalities who contributed in the development of Forensic Science as follows :-

Alphonse Bertillon of France was the first to evolve a scientific system of

personal identification. In 1879, he developed the science of anthropometry, a

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systematic procedure of taking a series of body measurements to facilitate distinguished
one in individual from another. He further systematized the technique of 'Portrait Parle',
a method of2 identifying culprits from descriptions provided by victims and witnesses.

Mathieu Orfila is generally recognized as the father of modern toxicology. In the

early part of the 19th century, he established, in Paris, methods of scientific chemical
analysis of poisons which are in use even today.

Francis Galton, a scientist from U.K. undertook the first systematic study of
fingerprints. By publishing a monumental work on "Finger Print" in 1892, he gave a
sound statistical proof of the uniqueness of personal identification through finger-print
and also developed a methodology of classifying the finger prints for filling purposes.
His works were further developed and improved by Henry who systematized the
science of finger prints.

Hans Gross of Austria, a lawyer by profession, spent many years studying and
developing the principles of criminal investigation. This resulted in the publication of his
classic book in 1893, 'Handbuch fu Untersu chnugsrichter' which was later published
in English as 'Criminal Investigation".

Edmond Locard, a Frenchman, later demonstrated how the principles put

forward by Fross, in his monumental book could be incorporated within a workable
crime laboratory. In 1910, he established a police laboratory in Lyons and later founded
the Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyons. He propounded the 'principle of
exchange' which form the basis of forensic examination of physical evidence.

Dr. Karl Landsteiner in 1901, discovered that blood can be grouped into
different categories. But, it was Dr. Leone Lattes, who first introduced the system of
identification of individuals based on blood groups from dried stains.

Calvin Goddard, a U.S. Army Colonel, perfected the science of ballistics. He

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.

Albert Osborn developed fundamental principles of document examination

which gave acceptance to documents as scientific evidence by the court. His work titled
'Questioned Documents' which was published in 1910 is a primary reference book for
document expert.

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 During the post World War I period, Locard's successes in the application of
scientific methods in criminal investigation served as an impetus for the formation of
police laboratories in Berlin, Vienna, Sweden, Finland and Holland. This was followed
with the establishment of a Forensic Laboratory in Los Angeles Police Department in
USA in 1923, F.B.I. organized a national laboratory which offered forensic service to all
law enforcement agencies in U.S.A. Today, it is the world's largest Forensic Science
Laboratory.

In India, some of the police departments started chemical examiners laboratories

and finger print bureaux in the early thirties. In the early fifties, some of the police
organizations also started Ballistics examination in a rudimentary form. However, with
the establishment of Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Calcutta in the year 1957,
a comprehensive criminalists laboratory under one roof had come into existence.

A significant achievement for our police forces was the establishment of Central
Forensic Science Laboratory under CI at New Delhi in the year 1968. Later, two more
Central Forensic Laboratories under BPR&D were established at Hyderabad and
Chandigarh. In addition to these Forensic Science Laboratories, Govt. Examiners of
Questioned Documents at Shimla, Hyderabad and Kolkata are rendering useful service
to the investigating agencies. Today, in India, in addition to four Central Forensic
Science Laboratories, almost every State has its own Forensic Science Laboratories to
help the investigating agencies in the country.

With the introduction of forensic science in the universities of Sangar, Delhi,

Patiala, Madras, Chandigarh, etc., who give degrees/diplomas in forensic science, a
new breed of young talent in Forensic Science is available to the police and the
administrators to help the criminal justice system.

Existing Facilities

The Central Forensic Science Laboratory, under C.F.I., BPR&D, Calcutta (1957),
Hyderabad (1968), Chandigarh (originally Punjab F.S.L. in 1961), later designated as
Union Territory Laboratory and now re-designated (1978) as CFSL under BPR&D).

Various Divisions

w Ballistics
w Biology
w Chemistry
w Documents

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 w Lie-Detector/Polygraph
w Physics
w Serology (including DNA proofing/profiling)
w Toxicology.

Other Institutions

w The Serologist and Chemical Examiner to the Govt of India.

w Central Fingerprint Bureau, Calcutta.

w The Government Examination of Questioned Documents (GEQD) - Shimla,

Calcutta, Hyderabad.

w The General Manager of the Mint.

w The General manager, India Security Press, Nasik and Bank Notes Press,
Dewas.

w The Controller of Stamps & Stationery.

w The Deputy Chief Controller/Contoller/Deputy Controller of Explosives.

w The State Fingerprint Bureau

w Medico-Legal Expert/police Surgeons of various medical colleges.

Scope and Importance of Forensic Science to Police

In the past few years, trust and confidence in scientific evidence has undoubtedly
improved even as the Forensic Science themselves have progressed in reliability and
effectiveness.

Scientific evidence often allow for more than one interpretation depending on the
circumstances of the situation, it is necessary, therefore, that the expert is provided with
adequate information on the background and circumstances surrounding the incident so
that he may draw conclusions from his scientific observations with the correct
perspective of the situation as a whole.

Thus, proper collection and preservation of the materials from the scene of crime
will ensure reliability of results I scientific examination, care should be taken to protect
the crime scene to collect the physical evidence, lifting of finger prints etc., the proper

4
documentation, careful transportation, scientific examination by the experts. To make
sure that the material is not lost during transit, misplaced or tampered with, an unbroken
chain of custody should be maintained and each custodian will be fully responsible to
maintain a chain of transmission of materials to the next persons which will be properly
documented, signed and reflected in the case records. To fully utilize and exploit the
utilities of Forensic Science, the Investigating Officers must ensure that physical
evidences are lifted/collected properly and legally so that the Forensic Experts may give
their opinion, and they are also presentable before the law courts. Importance should
also be given to avoid contamination and also maintenance of chain of custody. A follow
up of investigative works will enable to link the crime and evidence to the criminal, book
them, besides exonerating the innocents. Thus, for a member of law enforcement
agencies and police, the basic knowledge of "Forensic Science" is essential.

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 2. Medical Jurisprudence - An Introduction,
Scope and Importance

Forensic Science Vs. Forensic Medicine

Forensic Science (Forensic = of or used in Courts of Law) is the science of

application of basic science like physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics etc., to
criminal justice system, for the purpose of identification and comparison of physical
evidence. Medical Jurisprudence also known as Forensic Medicine, on the otherhand, is
concerned with the application of medical knowledge to legal matters. It is also known
as Legal Medicine or Judicial Medicine etc. and is a branch of medical science which
helps the criminal system. Various crime situations involving injury or death to human
body beccause of accident, assault, homicide, suicide etc. demand the attention of
medical professionals who should be in a position to interpret their findings in various
legal studies. Thus, the services of Physicians, Police Surgeons, authorised Medical
Graduate having at least an M.B.B.S. Degree, having done post-moretem examinations
and authorised by a competent authority and preferably having expertise in forensic
medicine are sought for medico-legal opinion.

Importance :-

The Police used to depend on eye witness which was never a perfect method as
I) It is always hard to get good eye witness,
ii) The witness may tell lies, or
iii) Susceptible to coercion, pressure, memory lapse because of time
factor etc.
Forensic Science is concerned with application of various scientific aids for
detection and investigation of cases whereas forensic medicine is concerned with the
use of medical science in crimes against human body where it is necessary to establish,
in case of a dead body, whether any type of injury is caused before death or after

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death, type of injury, the probable cause, whether the death is accidental, suicidal or
homicidal and also the probable cause of injury, whether fatal or not etc. Thus, the
success of any criminal investigation depends upon the protection of scene of
occurrence, realizing the importance of various physical evidences at the site and
proper methods of collection and presentation so that the same could be produced and
used before the Court. In order to make the police officer aware of the importance of
various physical evidence, it is necessary that they should have a basic theoretical
knowledge of forensic science and forensic medicine, especially the scope and
limitations of this applied science.

Scope and importance of Forensic Medicine to Police

In the past people depended upon the empirical and perfunctory methods of
investigation to prove the guilt or innocence of the accused. Trial by fire and trial by
ordeal perhaps have taken their toll of many innocent lives in the days of yore. In the
later period the accused were tried with the help of eye-witnesses and juries, definitely a
progressive step forward but not a fool - proof method, as the witnesses are never
complete and the evidence of the eye witnesses, if available, is not infallible. The
beginning of the twentieth century saw the introduction of scientific evidence in the
Courts of law. In the past few years, trust and confidence in scientific evidence have
undoubtedly improved even as the Forensic Science themselves have progressed in
reliability and effectiveness.

Scientific evidence often allow for more than one interpretation depending on the
circumstances of the situation. It is necessary therefore that the expert is provided with
adequate information on the background and circumstances surrounding the incident so
that he may draw conclusions from his scientific observations with the correct
perspective of the situation as a whole.

Thus, since proper collection and preservation of the materials from the scene of
crime will ensure reliability of results in scientific examination, care should be taken to
protect the crime scene to collect the physical evidence, lifting of finger prints etc., the

7
proper documentation, careful transportation, scientific examination by the experts. To
make sure that the material is not lost during transit, misplaced or tampered with, an
unbroken chain of custody is maintained, each custodian will be fully responsible to
maintain a chain of transmission of materials to the next persons, properly documented,
signed and reflected in the case records.

Importance of Scientific Evidence

Scientific evidence, by itself, usually does not establish the guilt or the innocence
of the dependent, nor it does it establish independently, the degree of guilt. It only
provides an expert opinion based upon on objective assessment of the indisputable
facts which help to reconstruct the incident and also help to evaluate the reliability and
credibility of other witness. The scientific witness provides the connection between the
facts of the crime and the testimony of persons whose version of the episode is at issue.

Expert Witness
The system of justice aims to discover the facts and to ensure that truth has its
full sway on the judgments passed in the Courts of law, but it is not able to adhere to
these aims due to the inherent shortcomings of the system. Even if the investigating
officer has done a wonderful job by collecting all the relevant evidence, the lawyers
aims at winning the fight and not at aiding the Court in the discovery of the facts. He
does not want the trial Court to reach a sound and educated guess, if it is likely to be
contrary to his client’s interest. But an expert witness, has no such special privilege
enjoyed by the lawyers. An expert witness, on the contrary, has no personal interest to
protect a client. His evidence is objective, unbiased and impartial. Forensic medicine is
a vital and continually growing, taking into its fold new scientific discoveries and
effectively turning them to its own use, in this relentless war against crime and criminals.

The service rendered by a medico-legal experts and the forensic experts extend
to the living and the dead individuals and the physical evidences available at the scene
of crime and for obtaining maximum utility of the same the knowledge of Forensic
Science is of paramount importance to the investigators.

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*********

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 3 . MEDICO-LEGAL PROCEDURE AND FEW LEGAL TERMS USED :-

1. Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860 - it deals with substantive criminal law of India,
defines offences and prescribes punishments.

2. Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC 1973) - It provides :

w Mechanism for punishment of offences, against the substantive criminal law.
w Formulates police duties in arrests, dealing with absconders, investigation,
production of documents.
w Provides for different class of Courts &
w Deals with actual procedure in trials, appeals, references, revisions and transfer
of criminal case.

3. Indian Evidence Act (IEA) 1872 - It deals with law of evidence and applies to all
judicial proceedings in or before any Court. It defines and illustrates evidence,
relevancy, proof etc.

4. Local Acts and Special Acts : A special Law is a law applicable to a particular
subject. A local law is a law applicable only to a particular part of the country.

5. Investigation : It includes all the proceedings under Cr.P.C. for collection of

evidence conducted by a police officer or by any person (other than a Magistrate) who
is authorised by a Magistrate.

6. Offence : It means any act or omission made punishable by any law for the time
being in force and includes any act in respect or which a complaint may be made under
Section 20 of the Cattle Tresspass Act,1871.

7. Inquest - It is an inquiry or investigation into the cause of death and conducted in

cases of suicide, murder, killing by an animal or machinery accidents and unnatural

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deaths etc. There are three types of inquests in India viz., i) Coroners’ inquests, ii) The
Police inquests and iii) Magistrates’ inquests.

I) Coroner’s inquest
In India, in the cities of Calcutta and Bombay, a special officer known as
coroner is appointed by the Govt. To inquire into causes of all unnatural deaths. The
Coroner is usually an advocate or first class magistrate with five years of experience in
his profession. He presides over the Corner’s Court. His territorial jurisdiction extends to
the city limits only.

A) He is empowered to inquire into all unnatural or suspicious deaths

including those in the jails within his jurisdiction and he can commit any suspected
person or accused to stand trial before a magistrate.

B) He can decide whether autopsy is required on a dead body, sometimes

may be after consulting the jury.

C) He is empowered to order exhumation of a body for identification or for

medico legal examination.

D) A police surgeon can be summoned by him to conduct post mortem

examination and he may summon the surgeon to give evidence in his Court along with
other expert witnesses. After a thorough inquiry into the case, the corner forwards the
copy to the Commissioner of Police for further action.

II) Police inquest

Inquiry into the causes of unnatural death by a police officer is called
police inquests. The investigating officer informs about such an occurrence to the
nearest magistrate and proceeds to the scene of occurrence. He is expected to hold
inquiry into the cause of death in the presence of respectable persons of the locality
(Panchnama) and submits his reports to his superiors with a copy to the medical officer

11
who conducts autopsy. The medical officer sends the post mortem report to the police
investigating officer, Superintendent of Police and retains a copy with him for
consultation at the time of Court evidence.

In case of cognisable offences like grievous hurt and rape, he victim,

accompanied by a policeman reports to the nearest medical officer for medical
examination. The medico legal report (MLR) would be submitted by the doctor to the
police officer concerned. In case of non-cognisable offences such a minor injuries, the
person may go to the medical officer directly or through the police or through Magistrate
after filing an affidavit, for medical examination and report.

III) Magistrates’ Inquests (U/s. 174 and 176 Cr.PC)

It is an inquest conducted by a magistrate to ascertain facts in certain
criminal cases as and when the State Government or Central Government orders an
enquiry. Magistrates hold inquiry in a) death of a suspect in police custody, b) death of a
convict in a jail, c) death as a result of police firing, d) in exhumation cases and e)cases
of insanity before a patient is admitted into an asylum. In order to ensure that no person
is unjustly deprived of his liberty as a citizen, to avoid deaths due to brutality in police
custody or by neglect, the inquiry by a Magistrate is ordered. In cases of doubt
regarding identity of a person, or cause of death, the magisterial inquiry is ordered.

The difference between coroner’s court and magistrate’s court is that no trial is
undertaken by the coroners’ court and hence accused is not present during the inquiry.
Whereas in magistrate’s court, the accused is present and a trial takes place. Only
magistrate’s court has the authority to impose punishment to the accused.

8. Oath :
Before giving evidence in the court of law, a witness viz., officer, medico legal
expert and other witnesses are required to swear that he will tell the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth. This is known as the oath and it is the duty of the Court
to administer it.

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 After the oath taking, the witness is first examined by the side which summoned
him. This is called Examination-in-chief. This is followed by cross examination by the
opposing counsel, after which the witness is re-examined by his own counsel.
Questions may be put to the witness by the judge to clear the doubts, these are called
court questions.

9. Court questions
The purpose of examination of medico legal witness is to record his
findings both in the form of written / documentary and oral. A medico report may be
a)post mortem report, b) injury report, c) medico-legal report in sexual offences, d) age
certificate, e) Lunacy certificate. The object of the report is to guide the investigating
authority and to assist the judiciary in dispensing justice in a case. The role of medical
doctor at the time of drying declaration is very important. He is to ascertain whether the
patient / victim is in a position to make a statement in the presence of a magistrate or
not. If yes, it is his responsibility to get the statement recorded in the presence of a
magistrate or a police officer.

10. Jury - Jury is a group of responsible, educated persons of good social position
called “jurors”. It is composed of an uneven number of persons. Their verdict is binding
on the Judge, but if the Judge differs, the matter is referred to the High Court. Trial by
jury has been abolished in India.

11. Courts of Law - Sections 6 to 25 of Cr.PC deal with constitution of Criminal

Court and Offices. Courts of law are of two types : (1) Civil, and (2) Criminal. The
criminal Courts in India are of four types.

(i) The Supreme Court is the highest judicial tribunal, and is located in
New Delhi. It has power of supervision over all Courts in India. The law declared by it is
binding on all Courts (Article 134 of Constitution of India).

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 (ii) The High Court is usually located in the capital of every State and is
the highest tribunal for the State. It may try any offence and pass any sentence
authorised by law (S.28, Cr.PC).

(iii) The Sessions Court is located at the district headquarters. It can only
try cases which have been committed to it by a Magistrate (s.193, Cr.PC). It can pass
any sentence authorised by law, but a sentence of death passed by it must be
confirmed by the High Court (s.28 (2) and s. 366, Cr.PC). An Assistant Sessions Court
can pass any sentence authorised by law except a sentence of death, or imprisonment
for a term exceeding ten years (S.28 (3), Cr.PC)

(iv) Magistrates are of three types.

(1) Chief Judicial Magistrate.

(2) First Class Judicial Magistrate.
(3) Second Class Judicial Magistrate.

In metropolitan cities with more than one million population, the Chief
Judicial Magistrate and First Class Judicial Magistrate are designated as Chief
Metropolitan Magistrate and Metropolitan Magistrate respectively.

Powers of Magistrates (S.29, Cr.PC)

Class of Magistrate Imprisonment Fine
Chief Judicial Magistrate Upto seven years. Unlimited (s.63 IPC)
I. Class Judicial Magistrate Upto three years 5000 rupees
II Class Judicial Magistrate Upto one year 1000 rupees.

12. Cognizable Offence - Offence means any act or omission made punishable by
any law (s.2(n) Cr.PC & s.40 IPC). It is an offence in which a police officer can arrest a
person without warrant from the Magistrate, e.g., rape, murder, dowry death, rash or
negligent act etc. In such offences, the individual is sent by the police to the doctor for
medical examination. In non-cognisable offences, the injured person may go direct to

14
the doctor, or he may file an affidavit in the Court of a Magistrate who will send him to
the doctor for examination and report (s.41, Cr.PC).

13. Punishments : The sentences authorised by law are i) death, ii) imprisonment
for life, regarding as equal to 20 years in prison (s.55 and 7, Cr.PC), iii)imprisonment :a)
rigorous i.e., with hard labour, including solitary confinement (s.73, IPC) b) simple, (s.60,
IPC), iv) forfeiture of property, v) fine (s.53, IPC)

When a person is convicted at one trial for two or more offences, twice the
amount of punishment, which a Magistrate is authorised can be passed (s.31, Cr.PC)

14. Capital Punishment - The various methods of carrying out death sentence are :
ha.nging, electrocution, shooting, gas chamber, I.V. Pentothal with skeletal muscle
relaxant, and garrotting.

15. Subpoena or summons : Sections 61 to 69 of Cr.PC deal with summons.

Subpoena (sub=under ; poena=penalty) is a document compelling the attendance of a
witness in a Court of law under penalty, on a particular day, time and place, for the
purpose of giving evidence.

16. Conduct Money - It is the fee offered or paid to a witness in civil cases, at the
time of serving the summons to meet the expenses towards attending the Court. If the
fee is not paid, or if he feels that the amount is less, the doctor can bring this fact to the
notice of the Judge before giving evidence in the Court. The Judge will decide the
amount to be paid.

In criminal cases, no fee is paid to the witness at the time of serving the
summons. He must attend the Court and give evidence because of the interest of the
State in securing justice ; otherwise he will be charged with contempt of Court.
However, in criminal cases, conveyance charges and daily allowance are paid
according to Government rules.

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17. Medical Evidence - Evidence means and includes i) all statements which the
Court permits or requires to be made before it by witnesses in relation to matters of fact
under inquiry, ii) all documents produced for inspection of the Court (s.3 IEA). For the
evidence to be accepted by the Courts, it must be properly identified as to what it is, and
where it was found. The evidence of eyewitnesses is positive. The evidence of doctor
or an expert is only an opinion which is corroborative.

18. Chain of Custody : It is a method to verify the actual possession of an object

from the time it was first identified until it is offered as evidence in the Court. Each
specimen when obtained, should be labelled with the victim’s name, the time and date,
the nature of specimen, identification number and signed by the doctor. If the material
is handled by another person, that person must give receipt for the material and be
included in the chain of custody. The evidence must not be damaged, contaminated or
altered in any significant way. The shorter the chain the better.

19. Oral evidence - Direct : Evidence of a fact which is actually in issue, e.g. An
electric blanket that has caused injury, prescription, or a consent form- Indirect or
Circumstantial - It is not the direct testimony of an eye witness, but has a bearing upon
the fact of the other and subsidiary facts which are relied upon as consistent (s.6 IEA)
e.g., in case of alleged murder of A by B at cetain place on a particular day and time, the
circumstantial evidence would be that C saw B with a knife on that day at that place, a
few minutes before the murder. Circumstantial evidence requires the Court to draw
logical or reasonable inferences from the information presented.

20. Hearsay - It is any statement made by any person other than the witness giving
evidence in Court, which is presented in the Court in order to assert that the facts
contained in the statement are true e.g., A gives evidence in the witness box stating that
B had informed him that he had seen C commit a crime. In such case direct evidence
can be given only by B that he had seen C committing a crime.

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21. The Medical Certification of Death - In India, the International Statistical
Classification of Disease, Injuries and causes of death is used.

22. Medico-legal Reports - They are reports prepared by a doctor on the request of
the investigating officer for his guidance, usually in criminal cases e.g., assault, rape,
murder, poisoning, etc. The examination of an injured person or a dead body is made,
when there is a requisition from a police officer or Magistrate.

23. Exhibits - Clothing, weapon, etc sent for medical examination should be
described in detail, sealed and returned to the police, after obtaining a receipt.

24. Dying Declaration - It is a written or oral statement of weapon, who is dying as a

result of some unlawful act, relating to the material facts of cause of his death or bearing
on the circumstances (S.32, I.E.A.)

25. Dying Deposition - It is a statement of a person on oath, recorded by the

Magistrate in the presence of the accused or his lawyer, who is allowed to cross-
examine the witness. This procedure is not followed in India.

26. Oral Evidence - It includes all statements which the Court permits, or which are
required to be made before it by the witness, in relation to matters of fact under enquiry.
“Fact” means : (1) any thing, state of things, or relation of things, capable of being
perceived by the senses, (2) any mental condition of which any person is conscious
(S.3, I.E.A). In all cases, oral evidence must be direct.

27. Witnesses - Sections 118 to 134 of I.E.A. Deal with witnesses. All persons are
competent to testify unless they are pervented from understanding the question put to
them, or from giving rational answers to those questions, due to tender years or
extreme old age disease (S.118, I.E.A).

Types : Witnesses are of two types (1) Common and (2) Expert.

17
28. Expert witness - is a person who has been trained or is skilled in technical or
scientific subject and capable of drawing opinions and conclusions from the facts
observed by himself, or noticed by others, e.g. Doctor, firearms expert, fingerprints
expert, handwriting expert etc., (S.45, I.E.A)

29. Hostile witness - is one who is supposed to have some interest or motive for
concealing part of the truth, or for giving completely false evidence (S.191 IPC). Any of
the above two types of witness can be hostile.

30. Criminal law - deals with offences which are considered to be against the public
interest, such as offence against the person, property, public safety, security of a State
etc. Here the State is a party represented by public prosecutor, and the accused is other
party.

31. Civil law - deals with disputes between two individuals or parties. They party
bringing the action in a civil case is called “plantiff”. The accused is called “defendant” in
both criminal and civil cases.

32. Record of evidence - The evidence of the witness is recorded as follows :

(1) Oath - The witness has to take an oath in the witness box before he
gives his evidence. He should take the oath as follows : “I do swear in the name of
God, that what I shall state shallbe the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”.
If the witness is an atheist, he has to “solemnly affirm” instead of “searing in the name of
God”.

(2) Perjury - Perjury means giving willful false evidence by a witness

while under oath, or failure to tell what he knows or believes to be true (S.191, IPC &
344 Cr.PC). The witness is liable to be prosecuted for perjury, and the imprisonment
may extend to seven years (S.193, IPC).

18
33 Questions by Judge - The Judge may ask any question at any stage of
examination to clear up doubts. The Court is also empowered to recall and re-examine
any witness already examined, if his evidence appears to the Court to be essential to
the just decision of the Court (S.165, I.E.A and S.311 Cr.PC)

*********

19
4. FORENSIC SCIENCE LABORATORIES AND
OTHER EXPERT INSTITUTIONS/CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE AND THEIR
UTILIZATION IN POLICE WORK

Introduction

The credit for establishing first Forensic Science Laboratory goes to French
National, Edmond Locard, with degrees in Medicine and Law. In 1910, with meagre staff
and accommodation, he started a Forensic Science Laboatory at Lyons. Eventually, he
became the founder director of the institution of criminalistics at the University of Lyons.
Locard believed strongly that every criminal can be connected to his crime by dust
particles carried from the crime scene. Similarly, he believed that every criminal leaves
some physical evidence at the crime scene, which helps the investigators to connect the
criminal with a particular crime. The Locard’s principle is quite relevant in the crime
investigation and he successfully proved his point in many crime cases. His
achievements led to the establishment of police laboratories in Vienna, Berlin, Holland
and U.S.A.

In India
In India, some of the police departments started chemical examiners laboratories
and finger print bureaux in the early thirties. In the early fifties, some of the police
organizations also started Ballistics examination in a rudimentary form. However, with
the establishment of Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Calcutta in the year 1957,
a comprehensive criminalists laboratory under one roof had come into existence.

A significant achievement for our police forces was the establishment of Central
Forensic Science Laboratory under CBI at New Delhi in the year 1968. Later, two more
Central Forensic Science Laboratories under B.P.R.&D were established at Hyderabad
and Chandigarh. In addition to these Forensic Science Laboratories, Govt. Examiners of

20
Questioned Documents at Shimla, Hyderabad and Calcutta are rendering useful service
to the investigating agencies. Today in India, in addition to four Central Forensic
Science Laboratories, almost every State has its own Forensic Science Laboratory to
help the investigating agencies in the country.

With the proliferation of crime in the country, need for qualified and experienced
scientists in criminalistics was felt. Since Forensic Science is an applied science, till
recently no qualified forensic scientist from the university was available for appointment.
The scientists from basic science were trained for varying periods of time and they were
treated as experts to report the crime cases. However, with the introduction of forensic
science in the universities of Sagar, Delhi, Patiala, Chennai(Madras), Chandigarh,
etc.which award degrees/diplomas in forensic science, a new breed of young talent in
Forensic Science is available to the police and the administrators to help the criminal
justice system. With the establishment of National Institute of Criminology and Forensic
Science, the need for training in-service personal and orientation courses to the
scientists, police officers and judicial officers has been achieved. Every State Forensic
Science Laboratory as well as Central Forensic Science Laboratories under B.P.R.&D
and CBIalso impart training of the police officers of various ranks and the Forensic
Scientists in the latest development in the field of Forensic Science. As a Co-ordinating
body for Forensic Science in the country, BPR&D looks after the Forensic needs of the
country as a whole in the form of training, research, preparation of work manuals,
arranging meetings, symposia, seminars etc.

The Indian Forensic Scientists have a reasonably active professional body i.e.
Indian Academy of Forensic Sciences which conducts scientific meetings every year at
various places in the country and brings out a monthly journal consisting of various
scientific papers in the field from Indian as well as foreign scientists.

Existing Facilities

The following Institutions are under the Centre Government.

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(i) The Central Forensic Science Laboratory, under C.F.I., BPR&D, Calcutta (1957),
Hyderabad (1968), Chandigarh (originally Punjab F.S.L. in 1961, later designated as
Union Territory Laboratory and now re-designated (1978) as CFSL under BPR&D).

(ii) The Central Forensic Science Laboratory, under C.B.I., New Delhi (1968).
Besides, there are more than 23 Forensic Labs in most of the state capitals.

Various Divisions
Both the State and the Central laboratories may have all or most of the following
divisions :-
1. Ballistics (5) Lie-Detector.
2. Biology (6) Physics
3. Chemistry (7) Serology (including DNA proofing).
(4) Documents. (8) Toxicology.

Facilities offered by various Divisions of the Laboratory:-

1. Ballistics Division
This division deals with :-
(i) The examination of all types of firearms and ammunitions to connect bullets and
spent cartridge cases with a particular fire-arm to the exclusion of all others.
(ii) To determine the service ability of fire-arms and ammunition; whether the seized
fire-arms come under the purview of the Arms Act.
(iii) To determine time, range and angle of firing; nature of gun shot, injury and a host
of other problems associated with offences involving fire-arms and ammunition.
(iv) To deal with cases related to the identification of explosives, their handling and
examination of residue materials after the explosion are also handled. Some
laboratories have a separate division to undertake examination of expolsives cases.

2. Biology Division.

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 The Biology division deals with physical evidence pertaining to living brings, like
human and animal, as well as materials of plan origin. The following items of work are
generally handled by this division :-

(i) Bacteriological and entomological examination of exhibits.

(ii) Anatomical examination of human and animals bones, skeletal remains, teeth,
etc.
(iii) Morphological examination of materials like hairs, wool, fibres, wood and wood
fragments, seeds, leaf fragments, pollens, micro-flora, diatoms etc., with a view to
identifying the material.

3. Chemistry Division
The Chemistry division deals with the following items of evidence :-

(i) Examination of petroleum products like petrol, diesel and kerosene.

(ii) Examination of sub-standard construction material like bricks, cement, concrete,
etc., besides adulteration in these materials.
(iii) Determination of alcohol in blood and urine in case of suspected drunkenness,
analysis of fermented wash, illicit liquor, varnish, etc. in prohibition and excise cases.
(iv) Examination of inflammable material in suspected cases of arson, dowry deaths,
etc.(v) Analysis of pesticides for their identification.
(vi) Analysis of narcotics, dangerous drugs such as opium, ganja, bhang, LSD,
heroin, pethidine, methadone, etc.
(vii) Analysis of dyes,, paint, ink, and other chemicals with a view to ascertaining
quality and composition.

4. Document Division

This division deals with the examination of all types of questioned documents,
hand-written, type-written or printed mater to give opinion in the following matters :-

23
(i) Comparison of questioned writings and signatures with known standard writing to
establish genuineness or otherwise.
(ii) Identify make, model orage of the typewriter used in typing the typewritten
document.
(iii) Examination of printed matter to identify block or blocks used or compoe of letter
types.
(iv) Examination of prints or rubber stamps and metal seals with a view to identifying
them.
(v) Deciphering erased, altered, added, or obliterated writings.
(vi) Deciphering indented, charred or secret writings.
(vii) Examination of writing materials like paper, pen, pencil and inks.
(viii) Examination of perforation around stamps, letter pads, pin and staple or punch
holes to connect them to the source.
(ix) Detection of forged lottery tickets, railway tickets, currency notes, etc.
(x) Determination of age of ink, paper and document as well as order of writing.
(xi) Method of printing of computer print-out and difference between the different
type of printers. (ie., inkjet, laser, dot matrix etc.)

5. Lie-Detector Division
This is a new division which quite a few laboratories have established recently. It
is intended to assist the police in interrogating suspects in important crimes.

6. Physics Division
This division is generally equipped with sophisticated scientific instruments for
rapid and precise analysis of physical clues such as :-

(i) Examination of tool marks, comparison of telegraph copper wires, counterfeit

coins etc.
(ii) Examination of soil, dust, dirt and debris.
(iii) Examination of glass, paint chips and other contact traces in hit and run cases.

24
(iv) Restoration of erased marks/numbers on stolen articles like vehicles, machines,
silver wares, fire-arms, etc.
(v) Torn fabric, rope, etc.
(vi) Trace elemental analysis with a view to comparing glass, soil, paint, metal
fragments, etc.
(vii) Other analysis requiring sophisticated instruments for various other divisions of
the laboratory.

7. Serology Division (including DNA Profiling).

The Serology Division undertakes the following examination :-

(i) Examination of articles stained with blood, semen, sweat, saliva to determine
their nature, origin, grouping, DNA profiling etc.
(ii) Determination of paternity through blood groups.
(iii) Individualisation of blood and blood stains based on enzymatic studies using
latest techniques.
(iv) Determine origin and grouping of fragments of muscle, skin, bones, etc. on
objects like bullet, finger nails, etc.

8. Toxicology Division
This division deals with :-
(i) The examination of viscera, stomach wash, vomit etc. to determine poisons of
vegetable origin, inorganic salts and metals, synthetic drugs, pesticides, alcohol and
other general poisons.
(ii) Examination of powders pills, capsules, syringes, vials etc.

(iii) Determination of alcohol in blood and urine in drunken driving cases.

Facilities offered by other Expert Institutions

The Serologist and Chemical Examiner to the Government of India.

25
 This institution is concerned with the identification, analysis, origin and grouping
of blood and blood stained articles referred to it by State Police all over the country.

Central Fingerprint Bureau, Calcutta

This bureau was set up in 1957, under the control of Intelligence Bureau. It was
later brought under the control of Central Bureau of Investigation. It is now under the
N.C.R.B. It is a national bureau maintaining fingerprints of convicts from all States and
Union Territories of India. It has the largest collection of fingerprint records in our
country. When a criminal from one State operates in another State, his previous
conviction records can be obtained from the Central Fingerprint Bureau to secure
enhanced punishment. The bureau also maintains the records of international criminals.

The Government Examination of Questioned Documents (GEQD),

Shimla,Calcutta, Hyderabad

This department, which is now under the control of BPR&D, was set up by the
Central Government for expert examination of questioned documents. It is primarily
meant for processing questioned documents referred to them by the Central
organisations of the Govt. of India. The department also undertakes examination of
cases referred to them by the States, provided such references are made by the officers
not below the rank of Superintendent of Police. For administrative convenience of this
department, the entire country is divided into three regions. The references originated
from the southern, eastern and northern States are sent to the Government
Examination of Question Documents falling in that region.

The General Manager of the Mint

In cases where counterfeit coins are involved, services of expert can be obtained
from the General Manager of the Mint at Calcutta, Bombay or Hyderabad, but not for
moulds, dies and other raw materials used in the making of counterfeit. coins.

26
 The General Manager, India Security Press, Nasik and Bank Notes Press,
Dewas
The department has experts who can examine currency notes to determine their
genuineness. But if the examination involves blocks, papers and other materials used in
the printing of counterfeit currency, then it is generally referred to the State or Central
Forensic Laboratory. If the examination involves foreign counterfeit currency, it has to be
sent to the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) at Paris through the C.B.I.,
Interpol Division. The Fraud Cell of the ISP, Nasik also examines the genuineness of
Court Fee Stamps, NSCs, KVPs, IVP, Stamps, etc.

The Controller of Stamps & Stationery

The court fee stamps, stamp papers, postal stamps and stationery are issued by
this department. Whenever opinion on the genuineness of the stamps or other
stationery is required, then this department has to be approached.

The Deputy Chief Controller/Controller/Deputy Controller of Explosives

This department is meant for enforcement of rules and regulations under the
Indian Explosives Act. Besides, in criminal cases involving explosives the investigating
officer could contact the Controller of Explosives of the concerned jurisdiction for
providing assistance in the examination of the site of explosion. Bombs, grenades,
booby traps etc. can be safely handled by these experts. They will also be able to
provide expert opinion on the cause of explosion.

The State Fingerprint Bureau

Every State has a fingerprint bureau on the lines of the CFPB. These bureaus (i)
maintain a record of fingerprint slips primarily of criminals convicted for certain offences

27
specified in the Indian Penal Code; (ii) Assist in searching the crime scenes for chance
prints for suspect identification. Some States have established these bureau in regions
and districts also, most of which are for single digit records. A few States have started
using computers for speedy processing of fingerprint records.

Centre for DNA Profiling

The Centre for Cellular Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderbad has developed a
wonderful laboratory for DNA profiling and an autonomous profiling centre has already
been started. Similar DNA profiling laboratories are available at National Institute of
Immunology, New Delhi, DNA laboratory under Ministry of Home at Kolkata and in other
places.

Centre for Cyber Crime Investigation

The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit (CCIU) of CBI, New Delhi and Andhra
Pradesh Police Academy (APPA) provide excellent professional investigators. Delhi
Police has also done cracked down some Cyber Crime cases. The CFSL, CBI, New
Delhi is also developing facilities for cyber forensics i.e. to collect, analyze and present
computer based information so that it is suitable for use as evidence in a court of law.
This has been necessiated after the increase of incidence of cyber crimes and other
crimes perpetrated in the computer environment. It may be mentioned that IT Act, 2000
has already been passed and necesssary amendments made in the Cr.P.C., IPC and
Evidence Act.

Medico-Legal Expert
The services of the local Medical Officer, Civil or Assistant Surgeon authorised to
do medico-legal examination or Professor of Forensic Medicine in medical colleges,
would be available for medico-legal opinion on the following :-

(i) Identity of victim.

(ii) Whether death was homicidal, suicidal or accidental.
(iii) Time of death/injury (post-mortem or ante-mortem).

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(iv) Cause of death.
(v) Type of instrument used.
(vi) Age of a person, or that of a victim in sex offences
(vii) Sex, height, age, etc. in cases of decomposed human remains or mutilated
bodies.
(viii) Skull identification by photographic super-imposition.
(ix) Odontological study.

********

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5. Role of Investigating Officers,Forensic Experts and
Medico-Legal Experts in Crime Investigation

Introduction

The role of police is detection of crime, maintenance of order and bringing the
criminal to justice without loss of time. The aim of criminal justice system is to help
punish the guilty and save the innocent from punitive action. In many situations the
police officer investigating the case needs the assistance of the forensic experts and
medico-legal experts who will help the investigating officer to interpret scientific opinion
and assist in the logical conclusion of the case following legally acceptable, scientifically
correct and established procedures.

Role of Investigating Officer

The primary duty of the investigating officer is to protect scene of crime, to

collect evidence which will lead to suspects/criminals besides taking care of the
casuality and risk involved in the case. In cases of murder, assault, accidents, rapes
and other sexual offence cases, the police officer first has to examine the place of
occurrence for any physical clues. If a dead body is present at the scene of crime, the
area should be photographed from all angles, after keeping a scale, photographs
overlaping each other, so as to include all the relevant clues. The original position of
the body should not be disturbed till such time as the photographs are taken. A sketch
of the scene of occurrence inclusive of the dead body with reference of a fixed object
alongwith measurements is a must. Photographs showing blood stains, footprints etc.
help in further investigations. In case of death due to accident, position of the dead
body skid marks, injuries on the body etc., should be photographed and a detailed
observation notes has to be prepared. In case the victim is suspected to be still living,
the injured should immediately be taken to a qualified medical practitioner to save the

30
life. The role of investigating officers regarding how the evidences are to be protected,
collected and exploited in their investigation is being discussed in subsequent chapters.

Role of Forensic Expert

The job of a forensic expert is the preparation of an accurate report arising out
of a close and vigilant analysis of the crime exhibits and the presentation of this report
eloquently in Court of Law. The expert’s endeavour is to reveal the facts without
bothering which party is to benefit, whereas the lawyer favours only those evidences
which support his/her case. The intricate process of trying a case should be a team
effort between the lawyer and the expert in which the ends of justice can be best
achieved if the evidence given by the expert flows smoothly, logically, understandably
and convincingly. The adept enriched with courtroom experience can overcome a ba
courtroom atmosphere and present his findings in an interesting and impartial manner,
thereby diffusing his command over the subject. Maintenance of demeanour in the
cocurt, technical and legal preparation are the important aspects which are included in
the training of an expert. While examining exhibits and giving opinion he should keep in
mind that one day he is going to depose before the court and thus technical preparation
depending upon his field of expertise are required. He should be aware of the following
at the time of deposition before the court :-

(a) Collection of case file along with other relevant records.

(b) Review of report, grounds of opinion and ilustrations in the form of photographs,
charts, films, transparencies, floppies, etc.
(c) Instruments - List of instruments, which he has used during examination,
required for his deposition.
(d) Refreshing technical knowledge on the subject from relevant literature.
(e) Collection of the copy of summons.
(f) Preparing list of methods required for proper demonstration of his evidence.

31
(g) Preparing himself what procedure he has adopted for examination of the exhibits
of that case.
(i) He should be aware of various legal procedures and precedents including
provisions of Law of Land regarding expert witness and legal validity of the expert
report.
(j) He should have close interaction with the trial attorney regarding controversies,
which may erupt during his evidence.
(k) He should also know how to depose in the court including how to address the
court, the way of speaking, maintenance of temper during deposition, dress code etc.

A worthy expert should enter a Court of Law after due preparation of every case
for trial with a firm conviction that it is his responsibility to serve the ends of justice.

Post-mortem Examination & Role of Medico-legal Expert:

If a dead body is found, the same should be despatched to the medical officer
immediately for post-mortem examination. Any delay in the despatch of the dead body
to the mortuary may result in decomposition creating problems for finding out the cause
of death. As far as possible the post mortem examination should be carried out the
same day expeditiously. In case the body is received late in the evening in the mortuary,
the medical officer should be requested to note down the external appearances
immediately and the post-mortem should be conducted the next day morning. Where
cold storage facilities are available, the dead body may be preserved to avoid
putrefaction.

In case a Govt. Medical Officer is not available in a particular area to conduct

post mortem, any other Govt. Medical Officer in the adjacent hospital or adjacent area
should conduct the post mortem examination. Under normal cases, no Govt. medical
officer can refuse to conduct the post mortem examination. In complicated cases, the
dead body may be examined by a medical board or the body may be referred to
specialists in the field of forensic medicine. on the request of the police department in

32
suspicious cases, the medical officer may seek second opinion for proper interpretation
of the findings. In exceptionally important cases, eminent forensic medicine experts in
the country may be engaged by the Govt. in medico-legal case.

Cause of death:
Apart from the post-mortem examinations, since the medical officer does not visit
the scene of occurrence in most of the cases, the investigating officer should familiarise
him about the circumstances leading to death. He should explain the place of
occurrence and the physical evidence collected by him to give useful information to the
medical officer. A brief history of the case, section of law applied, alongwith his
observations should be given in writing to the medical officer by the investigating police
officer.

A medico-legal expert should at least be a graduate in modern medicine i.e.,

MBBS degree, employed in government service or a local body viz., municipality,
Panchayat etc. He should be either notified as a Police-surgeon by the competent
authority or by virture of his position and experience and should have been detailed for
such examination by him superior from time to time. No private medical practitioner is
permitted to conduct post-mortem examination. However, in cases of accidents,
assaults etc., where lives are to be saved, all medical practitioners including private
doctors have responsibility to treat the patients. The provisions of criminal law come into
operations after the patients are treated. Forensic pathology examinations are also
undertaken by the specialists on tissues, body fluids, skeletal material etc. Examination
of a maggots swarming the dead body also may help in determining the time lapsed
since death. A complete understanding and co-operation between the investigating
officer and the medico-legal expert helps the criminal justice system.
*********

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 6. Scene of crime and physical evidence
Examination of scene of occurrence from the point of view of
medico-legal evidence

What is a scene of crime ?

It is a place where a particular crime has been committed or where physical

evidence of such crime is found when it is brought to the notice of the police. It is the
starting point for investigation. It is also known as ‘ghatnasthal’. It is a specific site of the
place of occurrence which is the bigger geographical area, geographically or politically
defined/named area. Thus, in case of a bomb blast having taken place at plat form No.
1 of New Delhi Railway Station, for example, the exact spot/place where the blast took
place showing damages, casualities, crater etc. of plat form No. 1 is the scene of crime
whereas New Delhi Railway Station under P.S. Paharganj, New Delhi is the place of
occurence.

It may be indoor or outdoor. It may,on the basis of availability of evidence, clues

and movement of the suspects/criminals who committed the offence, be divided into

(i) line of approach,

(ii) point of entry,

(iii) actual scene,

(iv) point of exit and

(v) line of retreat.

It is quite important because it is the place where physical evidence is available

to show that the crime has taken place. Locard’s Theory of Exchanges says,

“When two objects come into contact, there is always an exchange of material”

Thus, you will always find some trace, evidence which may lead to the offence. A
criminal may succeed in avoiding being seen or heard at sche of crime at the time of
committing the offence but he can not avoid coming in contact with his environment.

How to protect ?

The first person who arrives at the scene of crime has got primary responsibility
to protect the same from damage so that valuable clues and important evidence are not
destroyed. The scene of crime may be protected in the following way :-

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 (i) Protect from the curious onlookers, excited bystanders, highly
emotional family members of the victim, eager members of the press and
stray animals and traffic etc. by keeping them away.
(ii) Isolate the area by condoning off the area or putting up
barriers/tapes.
(iii) nothing should be allowed to be touched, changed or altered.
(iv) Once moved, it should not be altered/restores to its original
position.
(v) Take photograph with scale.
(vi) Prepare sketch.
(vii) No one allowed to visit except the IO or the Expert.
(viii) Search for evidence in sufficient strength.
(ix) Collection of evidence should be scientifically correct and legally
admissible.
(x) Always maintain a check-list.

The types of physical evidence depends on the nature of the crime or the
offence. In murder cases blood, footprints, fingerprints, hairs, fibres, murder weapon
etc. will be available. Similarly, in case of accidents, tyre marks, skid marks, soil, broken
glass pieces, flacks of paint etc. will be available. There is various Standard Operating
Procedure (SOPs) to collect evidence in various type of crime scenes. Scientific
knowledge, experience, observations, sincerity, understanding and team work etc. are
some of the good qualities.

Do’s & Don’ts

Do’s
- Take care of injured/casualities.
- Take care of security and safety of -
persons and team members.
- Protection from all danger.
- Contamination to be guarded.
- Not too many people.
- Search only after sufficient staff
are available during day time.
- Photography and, sketching must.
- Proper kit and sufficient packing
Don’ts
- Not to pick up all articles randomly.
Don’t allow overcrowding and
picnic by VIPs, Press, Sr. Officers
etc.
- Over excitement, ignoring basic
legal formalities including logging/
documentation which should be
properly done.
- Avoid routine and repeated
instructions to create confusion.
- Packing from any articles at
random should be avoided.

35
 and transportation materials.

What is physical evidence ?

Any article found at the scene of crime which has relevance to a particular crime
is called physical evidence. It may be murder weapon, blood or blood stain,
handkerchief, cigarette butt , traces of evidence like finger prints, foot prints etc or
anything which should not have been there under normal circumstances . It proves
occurrence of a crime, links the suspect with the crime, gives an idea of modus-
operandi . Thus a careful observation and analysis along with the crime scene helps the
investigating officer to proceed further and substantiate in reconstructing the offense. It
also exonerates the innocent suspects. .

Sources of Physical Evidence

Physical evidence can be obtained from three main sources :-

(i) Scene of Crime - The line of approach, point of entry, the actual
scene, point of exit, time of departure and all other physical evidence.

(ii) The victim - If the victim is assaulted, he is likely to carry on his

person or clothing physical evidence from the suspsect like hair, fibre,
blood, etc.

(iii) The suspect and his environment :- Besides stolen property,

search of his person and premises may reveal valuable evidence.

Significance of Physical Evidence

The physical evidence is used in the police work for 2 main purposes:-

a) The first one is the identification of material.

36
 This is ascertaining the nature of the material e.g., identification of stains
as those of blood, a powder material as poison of a particular group, identification of
petroleum products from heaps of ashes etc.

b) The second purpose is the comparison of two substances whether they

are identical or similar in nature or otherwise. The example is the comparison of soil
found on the shoe of the suspect with that collected from the scene of crime, chance
finger print from the scene of crime with that of the accused etc. comes under this
category .

Value of Physical Evidence

What is the use of collecting physical evidence ?

(i) Physical evidence can prove that a crime has been committed and thus could
establish key elements of a crime, e.g., Proof of rape requires a showing of a
non-consenting sexual inter-course. In an alleged rape case, the victim’s torn
clothing and bruises are sufficient to prove non-consent.
(ii) Physical evidence can link a suspect with the victim or with the crime scene.
(iii) Physical evidence can establish the identity of persons associated with a crime,
e.g., in a series of rape cases in a European City, DNA Finger Printing proved a
lone defendant was responsible for the rapes.
(iv) Physical evidence can exonerate the innocent.
(v) Physical evidence can corroborate the victim’s testimony.
(vi) A suspect confronted with Physical evidence may make admission or even
confession.
(vii) Physical evidence is more reliable and consistent than eye-witness to crime.
(viii) Court takes positive importance to physical evidence.
(ix) Scientific aids can be fully utilized to collect more and authentic physical
evidence.
(x) Negative evidence i.e. absence of physical evidence may provide useful
information and even stop defence argument at the time of trial. For example, in

37
 an insurance fraud, the victim claimed his house was burglarized. No evidence of
forced entry could be found and eventually the fraud was detected.

Identification and Individualization of Physical Evidence

Individualization means that an item is unique. The item can be shown to be

directly associated with a specific individual source. A torn piece of cloth physically filled
to reconstruct an item is an example. Other types are finger-prints, tool marks, fired
bullets etc. Thus, some physical evidence are capable for being specifically associated
with a unique source.

Most evidence can, at best, be identified. Identification means that an item

shares a common source. The item can be classified or placed into a group with all
other items having the same properties. Thus, other evidence are necessary to fix the
suspect theory. For example, fibre available at a scene of crime might come from any
other source having similar fibre.

Even if most physical evidence cannot definitely connect a suspect to a crime as

can finger-print evidence. But, this should not diminish the usefulness of that evidence.
Physical evidence that is identified can corroborate testimony, place a subject at a
scene and be useful as an interrogation tool.

Collection and Preservation of Physical Evidence

To major areas must be given top priority in the collection and preservation of
physical evidence, namely, :-

1. The legal aspects; and

2. The scientific aspects.

The legal aspects

Before evidence is seized, the need for a search warrant or a court order should
be considered. Otherwise, physical evidence collected illegally without court’s order will
make it inadmissible in Court. The procedure adopted for collection of evidence should

38
be scientically correct and proper/correct procedure to transport,to store and to forward
the sample/evidence to the forensic experts that they should be able to give
meaningful evidence.

Chain of Custody

The idea of chain of custody or chain of evidence is important. The Court will
require proof that the evidence collected at the crime scene and that being presented in
Court is the same. To prove that the integrity of the evidence has been maintained, a
chain of custody must be demonstrated. This chain shows who had contact with the
evidence, at what time, under what circumstances, and what, if any, changes were
made to the evidence.

At the time of collection and also doing handing over proper logging mentioning
the name of the collector, date, time, agency case No., date and items
collected/transfer, victim’s/ suspect’s name, brief description of item, etc. must always
be noted. In other words, the temporary issue register of the malkhana should be
properly maintained and the entry should tally with the case diary of the Investigating
Officer.

Sufficient samples must be collected and in some case blank samples or

control/known samples may also have to taken for comparison and analyses, physical
evidence once collected should be handled as little as possible.

Storage of physical evidence has legal implications. Evidence must be held in a

secured area prior to transportation to the Court.

Objective of Crime scene investigation

Criminals always leave trace evidence behind or take away minute material from
the scene of crime and or the victim. The crime scene contains important informations
that if sought in a systematic, legal and scientific way, can help the investigator

39
determine, what happened and who was involved. In order to derive the maximum
information possible from the scene of crime, the objective should be the following :-

(1) To reconstruct the incident.

(2) To ascertain the sequence of events.
(3) To determine the mode of operation.
(4) To disclose the motive.
(5) To determine what property was stolen.
(6) To find out all the criminal may have done.
(7) To recover physical evidence of the crime.

Importance of Scene of Crime

The material that proves corpus delicti (proof of occurrence of crime), linking the
suspect with the crime or exonerating an innocent person has got great evidentiary
value in the criminal justice. There is an exchange of physical evidence between the
accused and the victim at the scene of crime as per Locard’s theory of exchange. Thus,
the physical evidence thus collected from the scene of crime is useful to give clues to
perpetration of crime or provide a few missing links in the chain of evidence leading to
the crime or corroborate or negate the statements of eye witnesses. Success in the
investigation of heinous conventional crime like murder, bomb blast etc., depends to a
great extent on the care and diligence shown by the investigating officer who conducts
the first investigation of the scene of the crime. Omission on his part at this stage may
result in the permanent loss of a vital clue. Initially try to collect all clues available at the
scene and to shift them later on. This measure ensures that no important clue is
missed.

Though collection of physical evidence from the scene of crime depends largely
on the common sense of the investigating officer, certain evidences require
specialists/forensic experts help to lift, pack and forward to the laboratory for detailed
analysis. Thus, the need for training the police officers in the use of scientific aids to

40
investigation assumes paramount importance. A competent police officer at the scene
of crime is an asset to any police organisation. Another aspect of physical evidence is
the chain of custody of the physical evidence collected. The continuous accountability
of the physical evidence till the case is dispose off in a Court of law is essential,
otherwise, the exhibit may be tampered with or substituted by another object resulting
in wrong opinions leading to miscarriage of justice.

Basic Requirements of a Good Crime Scene Investigator

The investigator must do his investigation work calmly and deliberately to collect
all the evidence available at the scene. He should not approach his or her task with
preconceived ideas nor draw premature conclusion. He should scrutinize the scene with
eye open for detail. The outcome of the case depends on it. Mistakes made during the
investigation may never be rectified. The investigator should not rushed. There is no set
formula or S.O.P. for conducting an investigation. The Standard Operating Procedure
(SOP) is the standing order for a particular organization, which contains instruction for
routine or recurring activities, tailored to the requirements of the operation. It prescribes
action to be taken and assignments to be given to the constituting members to achieve
the target in the most efficient way. It takes care of understanding and team work,
proper briefing and clearity of all the members in the team and thus ensure the efficient
discharge of the work assigned. It has got prescribed, pre-planned procedures
consisting of critical actions not to be forgotten inspite of any type of eventualities and a
system of a check back, proper documentation and debriefing and a critical analysis for
future benefit. The best advice to an investigator in out of the ordinary situations is to be
calm, adaptable and flexible. The basic qualities of a good crime scene investigator are
intuition and an eye for what needs to be done in each individual case - both in addition
to a thorough knowledge of the methods of locating or preserving physical evidence.

Arrival at the scene

a) To dominate/immediate control of the crime scene

41
 i) To take immediate charge of the scene.
ii) To ensure security, both for the team and the area.
iii) To save/evacuate the victims and arrange for prompt
medical attention and arrange for treatment in hospitals etc.
iv) To note time of arrival, view of victim, take photograph
using a scale and to protect the scene. The area will be cordoned
off to prevent the entry of unauthorised persons, curious onlookers
and also to avoid damaging or polluting the physical evidence.
v) If any victim is dying, arrange for or record a dying declaration.

b) Collection of the history of the crime and examination of eye-witness

accounts etc. who were at the spot. All relevant and useful information regarding the
circumstances surrounding the incidence, time of occurrence, persons suspected or
responsible etc., must be noted as timely information helps to focus the investigation in
the required direction.

Examination of the scene of crime

1. Restrict entry and entry limited only those who are required for
investigation i.e, the I.O., team and the experts. The crime scene should not be
disturbed.

2. Reading of the scene, by the usual methods of sketches, photography and

observation notes.

3. Search for clues - A systematic approach should be adopted, to look for

the optimum physical evidence. It may be either Radial method, Grid method, strip
method or zone method, as per the requirement.

Limitations

Though there is tremendous scope of physical evidence in the detection of

crimes, there are certain inherent limitations as well, about the utility of physical
evidence. These depends mainly on the non-availability of incriminatory evidence by

42
clever manipulation of the criminal . Not all physical evidence available would have any
bearing on a particular crime as well as sometimes the inability of the investigator to
collect suitable evidence from a lot of material available as renders the investigation
futile for successful investigation of a crime.

Planning

a) Check list - A preliminary examination of site, followed by preparation of a

check list of what is to be collected, the equipments, logging, follow up action etc., may
be prepared.

b) Constitution of a team - Depending on the availability of man power, a

team is constituted and different works assigned to each and they are properly briefed.
c) Legal formalities - Registration of case, lodging of FIR, mandatory
permission/intimation of competent authority, requisition of witnesses etc.
d) Materials/Kit required - Ensure to get all the equipments / kit, to collect and
pack evidences collected, besides other requirement at the site depending on the
situation like light, torch, rain coat etc.
e) Photographer & Sketcher
f) Transportation and Communication

Method of searching of crime scene

There are several methods of scene of crime search suggested by many

workers, but the choice of the method should be left to the individual police officer, as
any of these methods could be utilised for successful observation and collection of
evidence.

Spiral Method - The search could be conducted in a spiral pattern either in

clockwise or anti clockwise direction. First the periphery is examined in a circular
fashion leading ultimately to the centre of the place of occurrence.

Radial Method - In this method, one officer is insufficient as it requires

thorough search of the entire place be it outdoor or indoor. The IO starts from the centre

43
moves along the radius and again goes back to the centre, moves along the radius to
the outer circle several times. Since the area covered by this method is much more, a
thorough search for physical evidence can be achieved.

Grid Method - If a small area is to be searched, the area can be divided into
grids and a person can search by moving at right angles to his earlier path, thus
covering a square area.

Strip Method - The area can be divided into horizontal or vertical strips. Starting
form one end, other end can be searched systematically covering all the strip areas.

Zone Method - If a large area like a field is to be searched, one should employ
more personal. In such circumstances, many people can conduct search of the area by
dividing the place into several zones. First the area can be divided into 4 zones and
each zone can again be subdivided into sub-zones. The number of zones and sub-
zones depend upon the area to be searched and on the number of people available for
search.

Contamination

Crime scene investigator should have on hand an assortment of envelopes,

containers and packaging to properly collect and to preserve physical evidence. Plastic
bags accelerate deterioration of biological evidence and should be avoided.

Contamination is a concern for proper preservation of evidence. Hence the items

of evidence should be packaged separately in individual container. Each piece of
evidence should be completely segregated from other evidence.
*********

44
7. Method of Collection of Physical Evidence
Methods of collection of various physical evidence and their evidential value are given
separately in a tabular form.
METHOD OF COLLECTION OF VARIOUS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
SPECIMEN TECHNIQUE FOR METHOD OF SAMPLE PACKING & EVIDENTIAL
HANDLING MARKING FORWARDING VALUE
ARSON & EXPLOSIVE
1. Liquid Keep the liquid in Label on the Upto 4 Oz In May be packed To determine
the original outside of the case only in a wooden box whether the
container and check container little amount taking care to see liquid is
indicating place,
for finger prints. or traces that the bottle inflammable /
description of
specimen, date,
available, the does not move explosive
time, FIR No., PS, same may during transit and material.
U/S, name of IO. also be sent the sides of the
to the Lab bottle do not
for analysis. touch the box
2.Non liquid i.e, Material may be -do- All specimen Place the To find out the
solids, pastes, collected by means including specimen in a dry cause of fire
ashes debris of forceps. If ash is traces. vial and handle /explosion
etc., from the present, the same with care to keep thereby modus
spot including may be collected by burnt material operandi.
electric wires, sliding paper intact.
electric underneath.
appliances etc.
BLOOD
1. Liquid Known and unknown -do- 5 ml. In sterile The vial may be Blood grouping,
blood samples may be vial. placed in a cloth blood alcohol/
collected on a clean dry bag and sealed poison detection.
cloth. Later the cloth properly. Label on
may be dried and kept the cloth bag.
in a paper envelop. If
liquid blood is to be
sent, keep in sterile
bottle.
METHOD OF COLLECTION OF VARIOUS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
SPECIMEN TECHNIQUE FOR METHOD OF SAMPLE PACKING & EVIDENTIAL
HANDLING MARKING FORWARDING VALUE
BLOOD
2. Blood stained Care must be taken Tags must be Entire The clothes To determine
clothing not to loose trace used indicating clothing should be packed presence,
material from the relevant data. after drying. Each species or origin
garments. garment should be and group of
separated by means
body fluids trace
of paper sheets,
and may be kept in
evidence etc.,
a cloth bag, from the
indicating the clothings.
contents on the
bag.
DOCUMENTS
Letters, notes, May be collected by No marking All As far as possible To determine
cheques etc.45 means of forceps, if should be made documents in documents authorship

45
 needed care should on the cases of should not be identity, to
be taken to preserve document. The forgery folded or rolled. check finger
latent finger documents may standard and If it cannot be prints,
prints.46 be keptin an admitted avoided may be alterations,
envelop and the writings may done along the erasures or any
envelop may be be supplied if old folding lines. other type of
labelled there are any The envelop forgery.46
outside46 suspects.46 containing the
documents may
be sealed by
cello tape.
Relevant details
of case may be
mentioned.46
FIBRES
May be collected May be placed All fibres Packed in folded To link the
through vacuum in a small along with papers and place suspect with the
sweeping with filter container with a original in an envelope or scene of
attachment or by label indicating garments, if pill box. Seal occurrence or a
means of cello tape place/article available tightly to vehicle.
from where the prevent loss.
fibres have been
collected.

46
 METHOD OF COLLECTION OF VARIOUS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
SPECIMEN TECHNIQUE FOR METHOD OF SAMPLE PACKING & EVIDENTIAL
HANDLING MARKING FORWARDIN G VALUE
FINGER PRINTS
1. On polished Articles like tumbler, The tag on the All latent The prints may To determine
surface glass panes, polished exhibit should prints. be transferred positively who
surfaces etc.may be contain date, Names of from the object was at the scene
developed at the case No., place all the in a non porous of crime.
scene of crime, of occurrence, persons card. The card
photographed and name of expert associated is then sealed
lifted by means of etc. with the in an envelope.
special finger print scene of
lifters. In case crime visit
experts are not and their
available at the scene elimination
of crime, the articles prints.
may be packed in
such a way that the
packing does not
wipe out the latent
prints.
2. On paper The paper should be -do- -do- -do- To determine
surface handled as little as the presence of
possible. No folding, latent finger
rolling be done. Use prints.
forceps to lift the
paper.
FIRE ARMS
1. Hand gun Should be handled Put a signature All Attach a string To determine if
by the Knurled or an tag and place the weapon was
portion of the hand identification the weapon in a fired or for fire
grips until processed mark in heavy arms
for finger prints inconspicuous envelope. identification
place
2. Rifle/shot gun Handle by the trigger -do- -do- -do- -do-
guard or the serrated
parts.
AMMUNITION
1. Fired Bullet Use forceps with Mark with -do- Wrap in soft To determine
taped ends. Avoid initials either on paper tissue make, calibre,
damage to rifling base or nose of and place a pill type of fire arm
marks on the bullet. Do not box. and for
circumference mark on sides. comparison with
test fired bullet
to identity the
weapon of
offence.

47
 METHOD OF COLLECTION OF VARIOUS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
SPECIMEN TECHNIQUE FOR METHOD OF SAMPLE PACKING & EVIDENTIAL
HANDLING MARKING FORWARDIN VALUE
G
AMMUNITION
2. Bullets and Use forceps with Initial or put -do- -do- Used for
cartridges taped ends. Avoid signature date comparison.
damage to the bullet and no of rounds
and cartridges recovered from
the weapon
should be
mentioned
3. Fired Pick up at the open -do- -do- -do- To determine
Cartridge case. end by means of make, calibre,
forceps. Avoid type of fire arm.
scratching Future
comparison if
weapon not
received
immediately.
4. Shot shell -do- Mark/signature -do- Roll To determine
(fired) on the side of individually in gauge of gun,
brass cap. Do paper and place and comparison
not scrap, nick in paper of weapon
or disturb the envelopes. marks.
base of the shell.
5. Shot Pellets Use forceps with Pack in a small -do- -do- The size of the
taped ends. Avoid pill box, seal and shot may be
damage to the mark properly consistent with
pellets. other
ammunition
found with the
suspect.
6. Wads Use forceps, avoid Mark with -do- Place in paper To determine
damage to the wads. signature of IO envelope. size of shot,
or initial for gauge or fire
identification. arm and
manufacture of
the ammunition.
GLASS
1.Fragments Use fingers on the Mark the -do- Wrap each To identify
edges of the longer container with piece in cotton fragments
pieces, do not touch signature of IO. or soft paper, collected from
flat surfaces. Process Separate pack to prevent the scene of
for latent prints. questioned and shifting and crime. To
known pieces further damage determine
direction of
force.
2. Small Use forceps or paper -do- -do- Place in pill -do-
Particles sheet for collection. box seal and
protect from
further damage

48
 METHOD OF COLLECTION OF VARIOUS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
SPECIMEN TECHNIQUE FOR METHOD OF SAMPLE PACKING & EVIDENTIAL
HANDLING MARKING FORWARDIN VALUE
G
HAIR
Carefully remove -do- All portions Fold in clean For
hair from the scene of hair paper and place identification
by means of forceps. found at the in an envelope. and comparison
scene. purposes.
Twenty or
more full
hair from
head, body
possible.
IMPRESSIONS
1. Foot Prints. First photograph the Label on the Sufficient Wooden Box. Comparison
2. Tyre impressions back of the photographs with suspect /
impressions including a scale in impression with to show the comparison in
3. Tool Marks. the picture. The the signature of impressions criminal cases.
impression should be the IO. from
carefully preserved various
till they are lifted by angles.
means of plaster of
paris/plastacian/ m-
seal
LIQUID
Poison, acid etc. Leave in original Outside the All liquid Wooden Box To detect the
container. Examine container label available. taking care to poison
the container for with requisite see that finger qualitatively and
latent prints. information. prints are not quantitatively.
disturbed.
Liquor -do- Label outside -do- As far as To identify the
possible in drug.
original
container.
SUSPECTED NARCOTICS AND DANGEROUS DRUGS.
1. Liquids do do do do do
2. Tablets, Use forceps or small -do- -do- Pack in a To identify the
powder and brush to transfer the cotton wool drug and to
solids. material to a vial. /thermocol classify it as
packing, labels narcotic/
“FRAGILE”. dangerous /
Psychotropic
drug.
PAINT FLAKES
Handle with forceps Mark sealed -do- Place in pill Chips found at
of scoop with a piece container with box or rigid the scene may
of paper. data. container. be traced to
suspect and used
for comparison

49
 METHOD OF COLLECTION OF VARIOUS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
SPECIMEN TECHNIQUE FOR METHOD OF SAMPLE PACKING & EVIDENTIAL
HANDLING MARKING FORWARDIN VALUE
G
FIBRES, STRINGS, ROPES ETC.
Handle small pieces -do- -do- Place the For comparison
with forceps and envelopes or in various types
transfer carefully to secure firmly of criminal
paper container. by wrapping in cases.
paper sheet.
TOOLS
Handle by side of Mark on side of -do- Place the To compare tool
tool after the same tool. Do not evidence bag. marks.
has been examined mark on the face Prevent
for latent prints. of tool. Use damage to the
string tag. tools.
TOOL MARKS
Cover tool marks Inscribe name/ Complete Keep from Comparison
with soft paper to initial on the tool marks. contaminating purposes.
avoid damage to the article the mark.
marks. containing tool
marks. Do not
disturb the tool
mark.
SOIL SAMPLES AND OTHER TRACE MATERIAL
The soil samples May be kept in Complete Keep from To link a suspect
from the garments, an envelope material. contaminating to a place or to
floors etc., may be labeled outside. the mark. find out the
collected on a clean profession.
sheet of paper
without further
contaminating the
material.

*********

50
8. Establishing identity of living subjects and
determination of age
What is identification ?
Requirement for Identification

Identification is the exact establishment of the individuality of a person, either

living or dead. The identification is required in respect of both living and dead bodies in
civil or criminal cases. In white collar crime i.e. cases of corruption, economic crimes
etc., a person will be identified not only physically but through his handwriting and
signatures. Other means to identify a person are his identity card, income tax PAN,
vehicle driving licences, voters identification card, service book, ration card, birth
certificate, electric/telephone bills, domicile certificates and to some extent the
signatures in the account operning forms of banks, signatures in the paper for local
guardianship of minors/students in boarding school, name in trust, mandir committees,
membership cards of clubs, health clubs, dramatic societies etc. To establish identity the
examination of relatives, friends, postal officials, village heads/sarpanch/chowkidars,
chairman/secretary of housing societies etc. are also required.

A. Living persons -

i) absconding criminals / soldiers

ii) Missing persons
iii) Mix-up of new-born babies in hospitals.
iv) Escaped prisoners / lunatics
v) impostors.
vi) Fugitives
vii) mimed/seriously injured victims
viii) victims of natural calamities/accidents.

B) Dead bodies

I) Unknown dead bodies/unclaimed dead bodies.

Ii) Dead bodies which are decomposed, charred or
disfigured.
Iii) Unclaimed / unidentified foreign mercenaries killed by
the Govt. Forces.

51
 Iv) Human remains : fragmentary, mutilated or skeletal
remains.

In civil cases, identification is necessary in insurance claims, matrimonial

disputes, affiliation and inheritance cases, impersonation and issue of passport.

In criminal cases, the identification is vital to establish corpus delicti, to identify

either of a single dead body or multiple bodies involved in mass disasters like air-
crashes, railway accidents and conflagrations.

Data useful for identification

1. Race - Caucasians, Mongoloids, Negritos.

2. Religion - Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs.

3. Sex - Primary
(male-female) & Secondary, sex-characters.

4. Age - Infant, minor, adult or aged.

5. Stature - Short, medium or tall.

6. Physical feature - Facial looks,

body structure, built, Frames, complexion,
height, weight, teeth and photograph.

7. Deformities - Malformation, inborn or accidental

8. Impressions - Fingerprint,
foot prints, lip-prints, Palato prints, Nail Prints.

9. Acquired Tracts - Tatoo marks,

scars, occupation marks in case of militants,
terrorists, professionals etc..

10. Personal belongings - Clothing,

pocket contents, Jewellery, rings, passport,
cards etc.

11. Individual tracts - Speech,

voice, Gait, handwriting, mental calibre,

52
 knowledge, mannerism, habits,
language/accent.

Determination of age

It is important not only to help to identify an individual but also from medico-legal
points of view. It is important because of the following reasons :

1. Criminal responsibility - Any act committed by a child under 7 years of

age is not an offence. A child between 7 and 12 years is presumed to be capable of
committing an offence, if he attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the
nature and consequence of his conduct on that occasion. A person above 18 years can
give valid consent. The legally permissible age for marriage is 21 years in case of male
and 18 years in case of female. Voting rights are possible after 21 years.

2. Judicial punishment - When a boy who is below 16 years of age or a girl

who is 18 years of age commits an offence found guilty, such person are known as
juvenile and kept in any juvenile house or special house established by the
Government, where there is facility for education, vocational training and rehabilitation.
The period of stay in a juvenile house should not extend beyond the age of 18 years in
the case of a boy or 20 years in the case of a girl. No delinquent juvenile shall be
sentenced to death or imprisonment.

3. Rape - Sexual intercourse by a man with a girl under 15 years even if she
is his own wife, or any other girl under 16 years with her consent is rape.

4. Kidnapping - Age is the only criteria for taking away a person by illegal
means, in offences of kidnapping of minor, either from lawful guardian or for intention of
taking dishonestly any property (ransom) or for selling for flesh trade etc.

5. Employment - There is restriction when minors can not be employed in

hazardous places.

53
 6. Attainment of majority - A person attains majority on the completion of
18 years but when a person is under a guardian appointed by the Court, he attains
majority on the completion of 21 years.

7. Evidence - Competency for giving evidence depends on a understanding

but not on an age. A child of any age can give evidence if the Court is satisfied that the
child is truthful. However, consent of minor is not valid in certain cases.

8. Marriage contract - A female child under 18 years and a male child under
21 years cannot contract marriage under Hindu Marriage Act.

9. Infanticide - The charge of infanticide cannot be supported, if the infant

can be proved under the age of 6 months of infra-intera life.

10. Criminal abortion - A woman who has passed the child-bearing age
cannot be charged of procuring criminal abortion.

11. Identification - An approximate age is important in any chain of identity

data e.g., when a few days old is alleged to be the new born child.

12. Importance and sterility - A boy is sterile though not impotent before
puberty. Women become sterile after menopause.

How to determine age ?

The determination of age is done for identification by using various methods,

which gives an approximate idea. The most commonly used concepts are :

A) Height and Weight

B) Development of secondary sexual organs

These are visible physical changes in human beings which is observed at the
time of prepuberty and puberty in adult stage.

C) Study of teeth, dentition

54
 Two sets teeth viz., milk teeth which are replaced by permanent teeth etc. give s
an idea of a child or an adult.

D) Another criteria is the study of bone-length, degree of ossification etc. on

the basis of the above and other physical observation, on the basis of the following
characteristic changes, the age of a person may be developed. For the approximate
estimate of age, the following points may also be correlated with :

a) First fortnight -.The changes in the umbilical cord

b) First six months - Weight and height

Partial closure of anterior fontanelle
Fusion of two halves of the mandible

c) Six months to 2 years - Weight and height, the eruption and calcification of
temporary teeth, appearance of certain ossific centres and their size in the heads of
humerus, femur, tarsus and carpus.

d) 2 to 6 years - Ossification of tarsus and carpus.

Appearance of centres in epiphyses of long bone.

e) 6 to 13 years - Eruption and calcification of permanent teeth is very

helpful. Alterations occur in the centres that have already appeared and additional
centre appear.

f) 13 to 16 years - The changes of puberty and ossification of bones,

especially in the region of the elbow joint.

g) 16 to 25 years - Union of epiphyses of most of the long bones with the

shafts take place. The union of epiphysis of clavicles, ends of ribs and illiacrest.

55
 h) 25 to 35 years - Complete union of vertebral bodies of sacrum, the
coronal, sagittal, and lambdoid sutures of the skull start to close. The changes in the
symphysis pubis. Dorsal margin clear and well defined.

i) 35 to 50 years - Further progress in the changes in the symphysis pubis.

Between 30 to 40 years, tooth cusp wear may be moderate to severe. Wrinkles about
the eyes, eyebrows and in the front of ears appear. Head hair become grey after 40
years, first at the temples. Later it involves the beard and still later chest.

j) 50-60 years - The pubic hair become grey after 50 to 55 years. The
external tables of the vault become slightly thinner. The molar crowns of the teeth are
usually worn flat to a single plane. If all molar cusps are so worn that the crown is a flat
plane, an age of fifty plus may be concluded.

k) After 60 years - Further sutural closure of skull occurs. The linea and
tuberosities of muscles attachment may show small osteophytic "spurs" or "spikes" in
the fifties and sixties and are well advanced in the seventies. Joint changes become
more extreme in character and osteoporosis is more marked. The predominant
features of this period are pathological skeletal changes. The hair may become silver-
white.

Loss of elasticity of skin, wrinkling, and discolouration of the skin of buttocks and
abdomen, atrophy of sclerotic change in the arteries gives an indication of old age : A
completely endentulous upper and lower jaws usually indicate an age of over 70 years.

The estimation of age becomes more uncertain after 25 years. Premature aging
may be produced due to illness, malnutrition, suffering, anxiety or worry. White hairs
may be produced in quite young people from grief or shock. Doctor's estimate about
age is not proof but merely an opinion.

Procedure for determination of age

In medico-legal cases, the age of a person is determined by medical officer on

requisition from the Police Officer or Magistrate. Written consent of the person and

56
detailed particulars of the person like a) name, father's name, age alleged by the
person, sex, occupation, address, b) Date, time and place of examination, c) Name of
Police personnel/officer accompanying the person, d) marks of identification, e) Name
of the nurse or attendant present at the medical examination, f) height and weight, g)
general build and changes of puberty & h) radiological examination of the bones etc. are
to be taken. The opinion about the age should be given on the findings of physical,
dental and radiological examination. Similarly we may tell the age of the foetus on the
basis of length, weight, organ formation, and other developments.

Other characteristics

The other characteristics which are used in the identification of the individuals are
:

i) Deformities - Cogenital or acquired.

ii) Mongolian Sports or Down's syndrome.
iii) Scars - healed position of an old injury or wound.
iv) Tatoo marks - Designs made in the skin.
v) Birth marks.
vi) Diseases
vii) Complexion and features.
viii) Eyes i.e., eye-colour, artificial eyes or absence of one or both.
ix) Hair
x) Bite marks
xi) Clothes and ornaments
xii) Handwritings
xiii) Speech and gaits etc.
xiv) Voice, personality, overall physical appearance, mannerisms,
dressing style etc.

Conclusion

Identification of living person is essential in both civil and criminal cases.

Because of non-cooperation or incapacitance or loss of power of expression and the
memory, etc., the identity of the person could not be determined. Information regarding
race, sex, age, height, physical feature, deformities, mannerism, artefects like clothes,
labels of the clothes, tatoos, bangles, earings, etc. are very helpful in identification.
Other traits like language spoken, slang, voice, gait, handwritings and information in

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other police station, newspaper reports, look-out notices etc. and degree of accuracy
contribute substantially towards identification of living individuals.

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 9 . Methods of establishing identity of dead person:
Examination, post mortem examination, examination of mutilated bodies and
skeletal remaining :

Introduction :-

Identification is the determination of the individuality of a person based on certain

physical characteristics. The identification of dead bodies /dead person is required both
in criminal cases and also in civil cases. Dead body may be entire and intact or
available only in fragments which may be in one place or scattered. The dead body
may be either

I) recently dead person, as in hit and run crimes, accidents, abandoned dead body,
decomposed bodies, which has been traced because of foul smell or by chance
detection ,

Ii) mutilated bodies, because of pre-mortal torture or post-mortal mutilations, either

to hide detection or identification or out of sadistic torture or being hauled up by
wild animals dogs etc., and

iii) skeletons, where only the skeleton frame, complete or incomplete remains.

The preliminary identification can be made on the visible physical characteristic,

features, wearing apparels, tailor marks, dhobi marks and pockets contents,
identification marks etc. but visual identification becomes difficult or impossible in cases
of fires, explosions, advanced decomposition, mutilation, aircraft accidents, earthquakes
etc.

Identification of a dead body/victim often helps the police to trace the victims
movements, to know his background and by talking to his friends, relatives and find out
his enemies, possible killers or his mental state prior to death.

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 Purpose :- In criminal cases of suspected medico-legal cases, the dead body is
required to establish the corpus delicti (the body of offense or the essence of crime),
which means the facts of any criminal offense.

In civil cases, the identification of a dead body is necessary in matter like

insurance claims, matrimonial disputes, affiliation and inheritance cases, impersonation
and issue of passports etc.

Besides, identification of dead body enables to intimate the relatives and family
members to claim it and perform the last rites and other social and religious rites.

Corpus delicti :- The corpus delicti means the facts of any criminal and unlawful
violence causing the death e.g., a dead body has been found and on the basis of visual
observation, we may say the corpus delicti is ‘murder’, after seeing the body of dead,
the wound marks e.g., entry or exit wounds, marks of strangulations, injury marks
because of struggle or torture etc. The corpus delicti includes the body of the victim and
other facts which are conclusive of death by foul play, such as bullet, or a broken knife-
blade found in the body and responsible for death. Clothing shows marks of the
weapon and drawings & photographs of the deceased showing fatal injuries are also
included in this term. The main part of the corpus delicti is the establishment of identity
of the dead body, and infliction of violence in a particular way, at a particular time and
place, by the person or persons, charged with the crime and none others. The case
against the accused can not be established unless there is convincing proof of these
points. If the victim’s identity is not known, it becomes difficult for the police to solve the
crime.

The identification of a dead body and proof of corpus delicti is essential before a
sentence is passed in murder trials as unclaimed, decomposed bodies, or portions of a

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dead body or bones are sometimes produced to support false charges. However, cases
have occurred where the death sentence was passed even when where the body was
not found or was not identified.

Factors helping identification:-

For identification purposes, information regarding race, sex, age, stature,

physical features, deformation etc. are useful. Finger prints, palm prints, foot
prints/impressions etc. are also quite useful. Mention of mannerisms of suspects,
artifacts like clothes, rings, bangles, ear rings, tattoo marks etc., may also be helpful.
Other traits like the language spoken, slang, voice, gait, handwriting etc. contribute
substantially towards identification.

The most difficult aspect of identification for the Investigating Officer is the
establishment of individuality from the skeletal remains. This is the job of a forensic
expert trained in that particular field. From the long bones viz., Femur, humerus, radius,
ulna and from bones like skull, pelvic bones etc. the sex of the deceased could be
ascertained. Similarly, the age also could be ascertained from the above mentioned
bones. Determination of sex and age from the skeletal material is essential for
identification of the deceased. When a skull is supplied to the forensic expert along with
a photograph of the suspected deceased person, identification can be carried out by
photographic superimposition techniques. Several few techniques of identification of
persons form suture closures, sinus prints have also been propounded by various
forensic experts.

Teeth also help in the identification of persons. There are two sets of teeth i.e.,
deciduous or milk teeth and permanent teeth. The deciduous teeth are normally 20 in
numbers and permanent teeth are 32 in number. From the development stages of the
teeth, age can be determined from the skeletal remains. In case of death by burning,
teeth help in indicating the approximate age of the person, as the teeth do not get

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destroyed so easily due to trauma or congenital, could be of immense value when teeth
or jaws are sent as physical evidence for identification.

Certain deformities in the bones either due to trauma or congenital deformities

are quite helpful in the identification of a person e.g., the long bones in a person who
suffered polio can be identified. Similarly, the bones of a dwarf can also be identified.
Any previous injury to the bones or skull help in the identification of the person. In such
work, close rapport between the Investigating Officer and the forensic expert plays a
vital role in the identification process.

Data-useful for identification :-

a) Visual physical characteristics

b) Scientific methods of super-imposition, Forensic odontology and
Reconstruction.

Visual Physical Characteristics

1. Race : Identification of the racial origin gives a general identification of the

victim or persons, in view of the recent scenario of increase in international travels, foreign
tourists students influx and unauthorised presence/intrusions of foreign mercenaries indulging in
terrorist acts. On the basis of complexion, stature, features and scale hairs, human race is
broadly divided into three races vis. Caucasian, Mongolian and Negritos. A brief descriptions
are as follows :-
Character Caucasian Mongolian Negritos
Complexion White Yellow Black
Stature Normal totally Short Tall
Features Normal Eyes Small Thick averted lips,
high chicks
Scalp hair Blond or dark brown, Coarse, black/straight Black and kinky
straight and
Skull Round Square Narrow, elongated
Face Small, narrow, large and flat nose Cheek bones
pointed noses with prominent cheek prominent jaws
bones projects
Limbs Normal Small Large
Cephalic 80 to 85 short headed 75 to 80 medium 70 to 75 long headed

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 index headed
Example Europeans Japanese, Chinese West Indies, Negritos

2. Religion

Hindus :- Most Hindu males shows tuft of hairs (pig-tails) on the back of
head, sacred thread, tatoos like ‘om’, shriram, religious marks, necklaces of wooden
beads. In case of women, vermilion mark on the fore-head/parting of hair, ear lobules
pierced, nose-ring, mangalsutra, tatoo marks, shaven of scalp hair, dress pattern.

Muslims :- Circumcision, callosities on the forehead, left knee and ankle

ducto Namajs, dress pattern, caps etc. in case of men and absence of vermilion mark,
mangalsutra, tatoo marks, dress pattern, rim of ear pierced at multiple sites.

Sikhs :- Long hair, kirpans, karas etc.

3. Sex
The development of secondary sexual characters like built of body, chest
hair, mustache beads, adam’s apple, breasts, genitals, bone feature, skull, pelvic bone
etc.
4. Age

On the basis of height and weight, teeth, development of secondary

sexual characteristics, greying of hair etc. will help to assist in determining the age.

5. Stature

The length of a dead body is usually 1.25 to 2 cm more than that in life
due to the loss of elasticity of the tissues and consequent flattering of the body
curvatures. The correct height may be measured by keeping two wooden blocks, one
touching the vertex and another touching the sole of the feet and measuring the
distance between them.

6. Physical features

An outline of the facial features help in identification is given below :-

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 Eye - Colour of irish, black, brown and grey.
Nose - Length, shape of the tip and bridge.
Mouths & lip - Outline, thickness of lip, lip-overlap wide.
Teeth - Spaced or project front teeth, over-ride, teeth gaps, denture,
discoloration, staining wear, tear, new artificial teeth.

Hair - Black, gray or brown, bleach or dyed short cut, style, clean shaven or
unkeep.

Physique - Healthy, thin, obese, fat or slim.

7. Photographs

Front and profile views are routinely employed for identification.

8. Malformation and deformities

These are either congenital or in-borne or acquired and when present are
very useful for identification e.g.

Congenital - Mole, birth marks, deft-palate, hare-lip, webbed finger/toes, club-

foot, supernumerary finger/toes.

Acquired - Amputations, hamp-back, polio-altady, mal-united/ non-united

fractures

9. Impressions

a) Finger-prints :- No two person has got the same finger-print and the
finger print never change from childhood till death. Finger-prints thus may always be
compared with records taken of known criminals if the person/dead body is suspected
to the same person. Chance prints at the scene of crime, may help to reach to the
accused.
b) Foot-prints :- The imprints of feet or shoes left at the scene of crime can
be preserved by casting and thereby used for identification.

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 10. Personal belongings

a) Clothing :- The dress may be helpful in identification and circulation

of information/publicity.
b) Pocket contents.

11. Concealed sex/concealed identity

Criminals may conceal their sex or individual identity to avoid detection by

dress, hairstyle, or other methods. This can be detected by physical examination.
12. Tatoo marks

13. Scars and other accidental marks.

Certain deformities in the bones either due to trauma or congenital deformities,

accident marks, scares, etc. are also quite useful in the identification of a person.
B. Scientific methods of determining identity

Dactylography

The fingerprint system based on the impressions of patterns formed by the

papillary or epidermal ridges of the finger-trips was systematized by Sir Francis Gatton
in 1892. It is based on the characteristic patterns of loops, whorls, arches, and
composites and comparison of many details of characteristics which occur throughout
the ridge areas and by the sequence in which these characteristics occur. The finger-
print patterns are distinctive and permanent in individuals. The pattern is different even
in identical twins. Palm and foot print also provide similar material.

Finger print may be collected even from dead bodies including decomposed
bodies. Now, the computerised automatic finger print reading system has been
developed.

From the comparison of finger prints left at the scene of crime, the identity of the
criminal can be determined, identification of suicide victims, deserters, persons suffering
from loss of memory, dead or unconscious persons can be established.

Photographic Super-imposition

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 Photographic Super-imposition is the techniques applied to determine whether
the skull is that of the person in the photograph. The photograph need not be front view
of the face, even lateral and semi-lateral view of the face can be used. A recent
photograph is the most preferable. The photograph is magnified to the live size and a
comparison and super-imposition done. The negatives of a life size photograph and the
negatives are made and the two super-imposed negatives are then photographed on
bromide paper.

Portrait Parley

The identification by reconstruction of features can be made both manually by an

artist or computer picture, which is known as Portrait Parley.

X-Rays

They are useful in identification by determining the sex, age, super-imposition

and height of the person by detecting old fractures, diseases or congenital bony
changes, besides detecting/locating bullets, missiles or parts of explosive or bombs
embedded in the body, lead poisoning etc.

DNA Profiling

DNA Profiling which is popularly known as DNA fingerpring or DNA typing is a

conclusive method for establishing identity of mutilated remains, burnt bodies beyond
recognition, rapist, resolving paternity/maternity disputes, wild life identification and
genetic typing of endangered/ornamental or commercial plant etc. It is carried out by
using methodologies of molecular biology based on sound scientific principles. It
requires the availability of any part of body containing nucleated cell having DNA which
is the genetic material. This is being discussed elaborately subsequently.

Conclusion :-

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 Thus, identification of dead bodies b is very much required, be it a abandoned
dead body, intact or decomposed, skeletal remains or multiple dead bodies in case of
mass-disasters in natural calamities, accidents or cases of genocides/acts of terrorism,
because of social obligations, family requirement and also the basic finding that perhaps
a crime has been committed and thus, the guilty should be punished.

Information regarding race, sex, age, stature, physical features, deformities are
useful. Besides finger prints, footprints, clothing etc. further aid to identification. An
expert can identify the sex, age quite accurately on the basis of bone structure, teethes
or dental patter and also by using other scientific techniques.

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 10. Guidelines for Investigators.
(A) On first arrival of scene of crime :-

(1) Write down names of witnesses and other persons who are known to have
entered the scene.
(2) Who was at the scene when the officer arrived ?
(3) Establish the basic facts.
(4) Keen suspect and witnesses separately whenever possible.
(5) Instruct witnesses not to discuss the events.
(6) Do not discuss the crime with witnesses or bystanders.
(7) Listen attentive but unobtrusively.
(8) Protect evidence that is in danger of being destroyed.
(9) No one should be allowed access to the crime scene except without the
permission of the investigator.
(10) Those allowed on the crime scene should not touch anything nor disturb
anything. In all the integrity of the crime scene should be maintained.
(11) Press should be disregarded during the protection of crime scene. Nothing
should be discussed with the press nor any information be given to the
Press. Be polite but firm.

(B) During Evidence Collection Stage

(12) The continued protection of the scene is a must.

(13) Command officers would render a fine service to their investigators if they
would preserve the integrity of the crime scene with a passion and set an
example for other officers by keeping out of the crime scene.
(14) Those allowed on the scene of crime must more with their hands in their
pockets so as not to touch anything, before they have been examined.
(15) Care taken so that persons wearing gloves do not touch objects bearing
finger prints and thereby destroy or wipe them out.

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 (16) No crowding nor allowing police officers/VIPs on sight-seeing tour, i.e.
nobody inside the outer perimeter.
(17) No item, however, small, should be overlooked.
(18) Do not examine the scene of crime in the night time unless it is absolutely
necessary.
(19) Do not start to search the crime scene if it is clear from the beginning that
specialised personnel/experts need to be called for.
(20) Full coordination, team work and full devotion of investigating officers are
required all the time.
(21) Sketching, logging, photographs from all angles with foot/meter scale
should not be forgotten.
(22) Organization, thoroughness and caution are three essential conditions for
success.

(C) Precautions to be followed by the Investigating Officers in the Medicolegal

cases

The procedures can be divided broadly into three categories :

(a) Preliminary examination,

(b) Inspection of the dead body,
(c) Inspection of the scene of occurrence.

(a) Preliminary Examination -

i) The date, place of occurrence and address of the persons who have informed
about the dead body and their reaction to the incident should be noted.

ii) It is essential for the Investigating Officer to describe the details of the corpse,
like male/female, age, height, clothes, injuries etc., and make a clear notes on these
points.

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iii) The IO should not handle the body or any physical evidence until and unless the
photographs of the body and the sketch of the place of occurrence are recorded. The
position of the body can be shifted only after examination and photographs have been
taken.
(b) Inspection of the dead body -

i) The location and position of the body with reference to a fixed object like wall,
chair, cot etc., and measurements with reference to various objects at the place with the
dead body should be noted down on a rough sketch.
ii) If it is suspected that the body had been moved after death, the same may be
noted. Post mortem lividity except on the downward portions indicates shifting of the
body after death.
iii) Pattern of blood stains present near the dead body in assault cases is quite
helpful in finding out the place of assault.
iv) Types of external injuries should be described clearly.
v) The position of the hands, legs, face etc., should be described. Whether the
hands were clenched, open, whether rigor mortis present or not, the types of clothes
and their position on the body should be described.
vi) Any struggle marks, stains of mud and other fluids present on the body should be
described.

(c) Inspection of scene of occurrence -

i) No person other than those connected with the investigation should be allowed to
be present at the scene of occurrence.
ii) No article or body should be touched until photographs are taken and sketches
are prepared.
iii) Finger print evidence should be looked for at the first opportunity.
iv) Blood stains, their direction, distance from the body, quantity of blood etc., should
be noted.
v) Foot prints, palm or any other evidence left by the culprits should be collected.

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vi) The position of the doors, windows i.e., whether bolted from outside or inside or
open or forced open etc., should be recorded.
vii) Search should be made for the weapon of offence. No weapon should be
handled by the IO unless finger print, blood stains etc., are lifted. The distance between
the weapon of offence and the body should be mentioned.
viii) Various bottles at the place of occurrence alongwith their contents should be
described before they are collected.
ix) The position of furniture, boxes, lamps alongwith the details showing any
disturbance should be mentioned.
x) The post mortem blood should be collected from the mortuary so that the same
could be used in the laboratory as control blood of the deceased.
xi) The blood stained clothes of the deceased should be dried in the mortuary before
they are packed and sent to the laboratory for examination.
xii) If identity of the person is in question, finger prints of the dead body should be
collected before the body is handed over to the relatives.
xiii) If suspected sexual murder, the vaginal swabs should invariably be got collected
by the doctor. The swabs should be dried thoroughly before they are packed and sent
to the laboratory.
xiv) No air tight container like plastic envelopes, plastic tins should be used for
packing food, semen, saliva etc. The body fluids should be taken on a clean piece of
cloth, dried and sent in a sealed envelope. Liquid blood may be kept in a clean bottle
but never in a metal pin.

Other Important Hints

A) The investigating officer should verify whether a crime has been
committed or not and should look for physical evidence that might lead to arrest and
conviction of the guilty.
B) In the case of suicide, the manner in which the death has occurred has to
be ascertained. If it is a hanging case, the type of knot, height of the body, length of
rope, height of the ceiling etc., are to be noted. If it is a case of suicide by poisoning,
the symptoms on the dead body viz., froth/blood from mouth/nose, colour of finger nails,

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colour of the skin etc., are to be noted. In the case of homicide, entry and exit points, of
the culprits, injuries on the dead body, presence of weapon of offence, blood stains and
other body fluids are quite helpful. Any article not connected with the surroundings /
household are important clues to trace the criminal. In the case of sudden deaths, the
physical symptoms on the dead body should be noted as soon as the investigating
officer reaches the place of occurrence. In all these cases, post mortem examination by
a qualified and experienced doctor is a must.
C) If the victim of assault is living, the IO should take steps to save the life by
referring him to a qualified doctor.
D) If the IO suspects that the patient is going to die, dying declaration, should
be obtained.
E) The medical treatment given prior to death should be obtained alongwith
the post mortem report.
F) Though the inquest proforma in most of the states in our country are by
and large the same, there are certain variations depending upon the different legal
procedures followed. The investigating officer adhere to the prescribed proforma and
full details should be incorporated in the proforma.

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 11. . LAW RELATING TO EXPERTS AND SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

Who is an Expert ?
An expert is one who has devoted time and study to a special branch of learning
and is specially skilled on the points in which he is asked to state his opinion.

However, legal interpretation of an expert is found in Section 45 of the Indian

Evidence Act (Act of 1872) which reads as follows:-

“When the Court has to form an opinion under a point of foreign law, or f science,
or art, or as to identify of handwriting or finger impressions, the opinions upon that point
of person specially skilled in such foreign law, science or art, or in questions as to
identity of handwriting or finger impressions are relevant facts. Such persons are called
Experts”.

An Expert is, therefore, a person who has special knowledge and skill in a
particular branch of learning and thus qualified to give his opinion, whereas, an ordinary
person is not competent to do so. Broadly, the law on expert would cover all branches of
human knowledge. Thus, medical men, artists, engineers, surveyors, engravers,
mechanics, artisans and the diverse classes of specially skilled workmen would all be
experts within the meaning of the section, of course, each in his own walk of life.

Based on the scientific reports from institutions like Forensic Science

Laboratories, Government Examiner for Questioned Documents, Chemical Examiner’s
Laboratory, Finger Print Bureaux and Serologist to the Government of India, various
courts in our country admit the report under Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act.

Indian Evidence Act : Section 45

When the court has to form an opinion upon a point of foreign law, or of science,
or art, or as to identify of hand writing (or finger print impressions), the opinions upon

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that point of persons specially skilled in such foreign law, science and art, (or in
question) as to identify of handwriting (or finger impressions) are relevant facts. Such
persons are called experts.

The opinion expressed by an expert in hand writing is admitted and also the
opinion on typewriting, as the expert has to prove his opinion in the court of law by his
personal appearance. However, GEQD’s/handwriting expert’s opinion is not conclusive
but corroboratory.

Section 47 of the Indian Evidence Act allows an individual to express an

opinion about the genuineness of a writing if the said individual is acquainted with the
writings of the person concerned.

Under Section 73 of Evidence Act, the court may direct any person present in
the court to write any words or figures for the purposes of enabling the court to compare
the words or figures so written with any words or figures alleged to have been written by
such person. (This section applies also, with any necessary modifications, to finger
impressions).

The scientific reports on criminal cases by the experts are admitted u/s 293
Cr.P.C. provided the experts are declared as Chemical Examiners or Assistant Chemical
Examiners by the Government, and their presence to give evidence in the courts of law
is exempted. However, there is one exception to this privilege, i.e., when accused
contests the opinion of the expert or the court wants to examine him, he has to appear
in person to give evidence in the court of law, after receiving summons from the court.
The Expert of the Mint, a Class-1/Group’A’ Officer of ISP, Nasik Road etc. are exempted
for deposition on their expert opinion in the Court.

Section 293 Cr.P.C. : Report of Certain Government Scientific Experts

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1. Any document purporting to be a report under the hand of a Government
scientific expert to whom this section applies, upon any matter or thing duly submitted to
him for examination or analysis and report in the court of any proceeding under this
Code may be used as evidence in any inquiry.

2. The court may, if it things fit, summon and examine any such expert as to the
subject matter of his report.

3. Where any such expert is summoned by a court and he is unable to attend

personally, he may, unless the court has expressly directed him to appear personally,
depute any responsible officer working with him to attend the court, if such officer is
conversant with the facts of the case and can satisfactorily depose in court on his behalf

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