Role of forensic medicine experts missing in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

Though the mandatory involvement of crime scene forensic investigation for offence attracting punishment of seven years and above in the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS is a welcome move forensic medicine experts are conspicuous by their absence in the provisions Section 176 3 of the BNS stipulates the investigating officer to take the help of forensic experts without defining this term This lacuna may turn out to be crucial at the trial stage in the court if the defence challenges the involvement of a forensic expert in the investigation Under the erstwhile act testimony of forensic experts and medicolegal experts was given evidentiary value during trialsLack of clarityldquoMaking legal provisions for the involvement of forensic experts is a good move However the law has not clarified the meaning of the term lsquoforensic expertrsquo So police in relation to bodily offences like rape murder etc will only call the forensic expert from the forensic science laboratory and not the forensic medicine expert from the medical college which is unclear in section 176 3 of BNS said Dr Indrajit Khandekar professor forensic medicine and toxicology Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Science MGIMS SewagramDr Khandekar said ldquoForensic science experts are mainly related to the analysis of the samples and they are either a BSc or MSc Whereas forensic medicine experts are qualified as MBBS and MD in forensic medicine So they are wellversed in the importance of the examination of human bodies or biological samples and its interpretation Once the body is moved the interpretation of the bodily findings becomes very difficult Once the biological evidence or evidence from the body is lost it cannot be recovered by another examinationrdquoMaintain chain of evidenceldquoIn some developed countries forensic medical examiners have been involved in crime investigations since the beginning Therefore they can easily supervise the body examination and evidence collection at the scene of the crime including the history interviewing witnesses physical examination autopsy examination laboratory test toxicology and their interpretation and collaboration as well as the deposition in courtThis leads to the maintenance of the chain of all the evidence and interpretation becomes more scientific and fruitful and thereby loopholes are minimisedrdquo said Dr Khandekar ldquoIf a forensic medicine expert has not been involved since the beginning then he or she will not get firsthand information from the crime scene This will increase the chances of misinterpretationrdquo Dr Khandekar saidRole of forensic medicineldquoForensic experts are incomplete without involvement of medicolegal experts as they play a pivotal role in bodily offences including even in criminal identifications and in certain case reconstruction of the crime scenerdquo said Amol Deshmukh senior faculty of forensics Government Institute of Forensic Science Mumbai and former technical advisor to state home departmentWay outInterestingly there have been numerous instances in the past where forensic experts have been able to establish the otherwise natural reason for death was actually an act of homicide or unnatural death during the course of autopsy Also they have assisted the police in identification of bodies through dental and orthopaedic implants in bodyCrucial role of forensicsNovember 2019 Odontologists at LTMG Hospital found that the deceased had only 25 out of 32 teeth and had undergone dental prosthesis for seven teeth including root canal treatment in five and fixing of ceramic and metal crows in all seven This along with the odonatological study of the skull helped in identification of the body belonging to Bennett Rebello 59 from VakolaMarch 2018 Kochi police could identify a body found stuffed in a barrel covered with concrete and dumped along backwaters of Kumbalam Kerala from the surgical implant used to fix the fractured ankle of the deceased In the above cases the common aspect was that they were all lsquounidentified dismembered bodiesrsquo and they were identified through the surgical implants on their body skeletal remains which helped in identification of the deceasedAutopsy revelationsJuly 2012 Versova siblings Rehab and Rameez Chougle passed away under mysterious circumstances within 44 hours of each other The autopsy which came after their burials revealed the deaths to have resulted from pesticide poisoningMay 2003 The ravaged corpse of 72yearold Adi Ardeshir Cursetjee was retrieved from the Tower of Silence three days after his death The autopsy at JJ hospital confirmed murder and the police arrested his adopted daughter Gita Soni who later jumped to death after she was convicted by a session courtMarch 2000 Noted film actor Priya Rajvansh was murdered on March 27 2000 at Chetan Anandrsquos bungalow in Ruia Park Juhu Mumbai Chetan Anandrsquos sons Ketan and Vivek Anand along with Mala Choudhary and Ashok Chinnaswamy were accused of her murder The death was initially said due to heart attack but during autopsy at the Cooper postmortem centre and a second autopsy at JJ hospital confirmed the presence of ligature mark around her neck This led to the conclusion that the victim was strangled to death using a rope