Author: Thanushree P. S, a student of JSS Law College
Introduction:
Forensic is the term given to an investigation of a crime conducted using scientific means. This name is also given for the application of scientific knowledge to legal matters. Forensic evidence plays a magnificent role in criminal investigations in India. The main purpose of Forensic Science in Criminal Law is to help identify suspects, establish the facts of a case, and link suspects to the crime scene. Forensic evidence and techniques can also be used to support or refute witness testimony and to establish the cause of death in cases of homicide.
Forensic science is one of the most significant characteristics of the criminal justice system. It deals with exploring scientific and physical clues gathered from crime scenes. Forensic science is a discipline that functions within the parameters of the legal system and may have a remarkable contribution to supporting justice in crime investigations and other serious violations. Its purpose is to guide those conducting criminal investigations by recognition and recovery of evidence at crime scenes and accurate information upon which they can rely in resolving criminal and civil disputes. The crime includes homicide, rape, incidents related to accidents, undisclosed bodies, misplaced persons, and cases related to fraud and forgery.
Origins of forensic science and early methods:
The ancient world lacked a standardized forensic practice, which made easy for criminals to escape punishment. Criminal investigations and trials, in early stages, relied heavily on forced confessions and witness testimony. However, ancient sources do contain several accounts of techniques that foreshadow concepts in forensic science developed centuries later. The first written account of using medicine and entomology to solve criminal cases is attributed to and evidenced in the book written by Song Ci (1186-1249) a director of justice, jail and supervision, during the Chinese Song dynasty in 1248. The book was named Xi Yuan Lu (translated as Washing Away of Wrongs). Song Ci introduced regulations concerning autopsy reports to the court, how to protect the evidence in the examining process, and explained why forensic workers must demonstrate impartiality to the public. He devised methods for making antiseptic and promoting the reappearance of hidden injuries to dead bodies and bones (using sunlight and vinegar under a red-oil umbrella); calculating the time of death (allowing for weather and insect activity). He also described how to wash and examine the dead body to ascertain the reason for death. At that time, the book had described methods for distinguishing between suicide and faked suicide.
In one of Song Ci’s accounts (Washing Away of Wrongs), the case of a person murdered with a sickle was solved by an investigator who instructed each suspect to bring his sickle to one location. (He realized it was one particular sickle by testing various blades on an animal carcass and comparing the wounds) Flies, attracted by the smell of blood, eventually gathered on a single sickle, thus proving it was that sickle used as a weapon. In light of this, the owner of that sickle confessed to the murder. The book distinguishes between drowning (water in the lungs) and strangulation (broken neck cartilage). It describes evidence from examining corpses to determine if a death was caused by murder, suicide, or accident. People also used to examine the saliva from the mouth and tongue to determine the innocence or guilt of an accused as a precursor to the Polygraph test. Wherein, some suspects were made to fill their mouths with dried rice and spit it back. Similarly, people accused of a crime would have to put rice powder in their mouths. The accused were also made to lick hot metal rods briefly. It was thought that these tests had some validity since a guilty person would produce less saliva and thus have a drier mouth than the innocent person; the accused would be considered guilty if rice was sticking to their mouths in abundance due to lack of hydration or if their tongues were severely burned due to lack of shielding from saliva.
Development of Forensic Science
In 16th-century Europe, the medical practitioners in Army and University settings began to gather information and to investigate on the cause and manner of death. A French army surgeon, Ambroise Paré, systematically studied the effects of violent death on internal organs. Two Italian surgeons, Fortunato Fidelis and Paolo Zacchia, laid the foundation of modern pathology by studying changes in the body’s structure due to disease. In the late 18th century, writings on these topics began to appear. These included A Treatise on Forensic Medicine and Public Health by the French physician Francois Immanuel Fodere and The Complete System of Police Medicine by the German medical expert Johann Peter Frank.
As the rational values of the Enlightenment era increasingly permeated society in the 18th century, criminal investigation became a more evidence-based and started to accept rational procedure for investigation. The use of torture to force confessions was curtailed, and belief in witchcraft and other powers of the occult largely ceased to influence the court’s decisions. The following two examples of English forensic science in individual legal proceedings demonstrate the increasing use of logic and procedure in criminal investigations at the time. In 1784, one John Toms was tried and convicted for murdering Edward Culshaw with a pistol in Lancaster. When the dead body of Culshaw was examined, a pistol wad (crushed paper used to secure powder and balls in the muzzle) which was found in his head wound matched perfectly with a torn newspaper found in Toms’s pocket, leading to the conviction.
In Warwick, 1816, a farm labourer was tried and convicted of the murder of a young maidservant. She had been drowned in a shallow pool and was bearing the marks of violent assault. The police found footprints and an impression from corduroy cloth with a sewn patch in the damp earth near the pool during the investigation. They also found scattered grains of wheat and chaff. The breeches of a farm labourer who had been threshing wheat nearby were examined and corresponded exactly to the impression in the earth near the pool with the help of forensic techniques.
Key Components of Forensic Science:
Crime Scene Investigation: The process of collecting, preserving, and documenting physical evidence at a crime scene. This includes techniques for fingerprint analysis, DNA collection, blood spatter analysis, and more.
Physical Evidence Analysis: Examination of physical objects and materials found at crime scenes, such as fibres, hair, glass, paint, and weapons. Various analytical techniques are employed to identify, compare, and match evidence to suspects or known samples.
Digital and Cyber Forensics: Investigating and analysing digital devices and electronic data to recover, preserve, and analyse information relevant to criminal cases. This field includes computer forensics, mobile device forensics, and cybersecurity.
Toxicology: Study of the presence and effects of drugs, alcohol, poisons, and other chemicals in biological samples. Toxicologists analyse bodily fluids and tissues to determine if toxic substances contributed to a person’s death or behaviour.
Forensic Anthropology: The identification and Analysis of human skeletal remains to determine age, sex, ancestry, and potential cause of death. This field is crucial in cases of unidentified or decomposed remains.
Forensic Odontology: Examination of dental records and bite marks to identify individuals and provide evidence in cases involving dental evidence or bite mark analysis.
Various Fields within Forensic Science:
Forensic Pathology: The investigation of causes and mechanisms of death by conducting autopsies and post-mortem examinations. Forensic pathologists determine whether deaths are natural, accidental, suicidal, or homicidal.
Forensic Entomology: Study of insect activity on decomposed bodies to estimate the time of death and gather information about the post-mortem interval.
Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry: Assessment of mental health, competency, and criminal behaviour. Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists provide insights into the psychological aspects of criminal cases.
Forensic Engineering: Examination of materials, structures, and products to determine causes of accidents, failures, or fires, often used in cases involving product liability or construction accidents.
Forensic Document Examination: Analysis of handwriting, typewriting, printing, paper, and ink to establish the authenticity of documents and detect potential fraud.
Forensic Serology: Identification and Analysis of bodily fluids such as blood, semen, and saliva, crucial in sexual assault and violent crime cases.
Forensic Linguistics: Analysis of language, speech patterns, and writing styles to identify authors, verify documents, and provide insights into communication patterns.
Firearm and Toolmark Analysis: Study of firearms, bullets, casings, and tool marks to link weapons to crimes and determine trajectories of fired projectiles.
Forensic Economics: Evaluation of financial damages in legal cases, including calculating losses due to accidents, wrongful death, and other incidents.
Role of Forensic Science in the Criminal Investigation
Without Forensic Science, the criminal investigation is incomplete because if the investigation is completed without Forensic Science, criminals can never be convicted unless an eyewitness is present. While law enforcement agencies and detectives collect evidence, be it digital or physical, Forensic Science must analyse those pieces of evidence to establish facts that can be admissible in a Court of Law. Thus, in a world devoid of forensic Science, thieves, murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers would be roaming freely on the streets.
The responsibilities and duties of a forensic scientist in a criminal investigation are crucial because it involves carefully examining evidence with due care so that it can not be tampered with. A diverse pool of forensic tools and forensic scientists are involved in investigating the crime. For instance, if forensic scientist is skilled in their work, the pathologists can easily determine the cause of death by performing autopsies. An autopsy helps establish the manner of death and cause of death by examining body tissues and fluids. Forensic scientists analyze physical evidence like fingerprints, hair, blood, etc. After collecting all the evidence from the crime scene helps the authorities identify the suspects. Forensic scientists also use image modification tools to search for criminals absconding from the Law for a long time. This image modification tool helps to enable them to digitally age a photograph to understand how the individual would look on aging.
Importance of Forensic Science in the Law
The word ‘forensic’ is taken from the Latin word ‘forenses,’ which means a ‘forum.’ Forensic Science involves preserving, collecting, and analysing evidence suitable for prosecuting an offender in the criminal Court. The application of Forensic Science in the Indian criminal justice system, thus, gives a clear picture.
The justice and legal system widely recognize the Role of forensic Science in the trial of criminal offenders for pieces of evidence. This is because when scientific methods and techniques are used, there is little scope for injustice and biases. That’s why D.N.A. profiling and other types of forensic evidence are widely accepted in the courts of the whole world. Forensic evidence is extensively used worldwide to both exonerate and convict defendants. Thus, forensic science laboratories have grown widely all over the world in the past couple of decades. Special Acts have been enacted in Canada, the U.S., and Australia to improve the quality and system of Forensic Science.
Forensic Science is one of the most significant characteristics of the criminal justice system. It deals with exploring scientific and physical clues gathered from crime scenes. Forensic Science is that discipline which functions within the parameters of the legal system and may have a remarkable contribution to supporting justice in crime investigations and other serious violations. Its purpose is to guide those conducting criminal investigations by recognition and recovery of evidence at crime scenes and accurate information upon which they can rely in resolving criminal and civil disputes. The crime includes homicide, rape, incidents related to accidents, undisclosed bodies, misplaced persons, and cases pertaining to fraud and forgery.
Some criminal cases solved by Forensics in India
Tandoor Murder Case (1995) Delhi
This was the first criminal case solved by the help of forensics in India. In this case, Sushil Sharma murdered his wife at home by firing three bullets to his wife Naina Sahni’s body. He killed his wife believing that she had love affair with her classmate and a fellow congress worker Matloob Karim. After murdering his wife Sharma took her body in his car to the Bhagya Restaurant, where he and restaurant manager Keshav Kumar attempted to burn her in a tandoor there. Police recovered Sharma’s revolver and blood-stained clothes and sent them to Lodhi Rond forensic laboratory. They also took blood sample of victim’s parents, Harbhajan Singh and Jaswant Kaur and sent them for DNA test. According to the lab report, “Blood sample preserved by the doctor while conducting the post mortem and the blood stains on two leads recovered from the skull and the neck of the body of deceased Naina are of ‘B’ blood group.” Confirming that the body was that of Sahni, the DNA report said, “The tests prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the charred (burnt) body is that of Naina Sahni who is the biological offspring of Mr. Harbhajan Singh and Jaswant Kaur.” And finally, Mr. Shusil Sharma was found guilty for his wife’s murder with the help of forensic evidences.
Sister Abhaya murder case (1995) Kerala
The Sister Abhaya Case is a curious case regarding the death of a Knanaya Roman Catholic nun, who was found dead in a well in St. Pius X convent in Kottayam, India, on 27 March 1992. She was 19 years old at the time of her death, and was a member of St. Joseph’s Congregation for women under the Knanaya Catholic diocese of Kottayam, Kerala in India. She was studying in BCM College in Kottayam during her pre degree course when the incident happened, and was staying in St. Pius X Convent/Hostel at the time of her death. On the day of her death, she got up from sleep early at around 4 a.m. to study for her exam. It is reported that she had gone down to the kitchen of the hostel to get water from the refrigerator. Later her body was found dead in the well outside the kitchen in the convent/hostel compound. Scientific investigation methods such as polygraph tests, brain mapping/ brain fingerprinting and narco-analysis were used to solve the case. Subsequently two fathers of the church were arrested.
Conclusion
From centuries till recent days, forensics have been used with the criminal law investigation. The Indian Courts lays more emphasis of forensic and scientific techniques in order to solve the mysteries of a case. From many ancient cases till the recent Shraddha Murder case, the forensics have played a crucial role in order to provide justice to the victims and their families and to punish the actual offender. The forensic proofs work effortlessly within the boundary of Indian legal skeleton. Thus, the Forensics have a magnificent role in the Criminal law and investigation.
