FORENSIC MISSTEP IS MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE

THE public outcry following the rape and murder of a trainee medico at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has raised the issue of a delayed forensic examination.

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It is a case of perverted sexuality, torture and death caused by breakage of the thyroid cartilage due to throttling.

The media initially reported this as a gangrape due to the alleged presence of a large amount of seminal fluid collected from the corpus of the deceased during autopsy. However, more recent reports indicated that the DNA collected has established the involvement of only one accused: Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer. In fact, the '151 mg liquid' mentioned in the post-mortem report was misinterpreted due to a lack of forensic awareness.

Undue delays in conducting forensic analysis in such cases create doubts about manipulation, depleting faith in the administration of justice. The recent Anokhilal case in Madhya Pradesh was a glaring case of forensic misconduct, leading to a man receiving the death sentence twice at two trials where the DNA report was misinterpreted as inculpatory evidence. Forensic misconduct was exposed only during the third trial and on March 19, 2024, it became the first DNA-based exoneration in India.

From July 2024, India replaced three major criminal laws and placed high reliance on forensic investigation. However, certain precautions are necessary, as forensic opinion is not gospel truth. The science behind forensics may be perfect, but the man behind forensic procedures may not be. When misconduct couples with collusion, fraud is inevitable; forensics is no exception.