How a Laboratory Is Divided
Chapter Forty-Nine
Syllabus topic 3, "An Introduction to :"
Pages 199 to 201 of 654
In one line
A forensic science laboratory is a set of divisions, and each division exists because it answers a different kind of question.
In the wording a student can write in an exam: a forensic science laboratory is organised into specialised divisions, and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Chandigarh states its own as Ballistics, Biology and DNA, Chemistry, Narcotics, Explosive, Forensic Electronics, Physics, Toxicology and Questioned Documents; alongside them and usually outside the laboratory sit the Finger Print Bureau, the office of the Government Examiner of Questioned Documents and the medico-legal work of the hospitals, each of which the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 recognises separately in section 329(4).
The published list, and why to use it
Most accounts of the divisions of a forensic laboratory are somebody's opinion. This one is not: it is what an Indian Central laboratory publishes about itself.
Ballistics. Biology and DNA. Chemistry. Narcotics. Explosive. Forensic Electronics. Physics. Toxicology. Questioned Documents.
Nine divisions. Learn them in that form, because a question that asks about the role of a forensic science laboratory is answered better by a candidate who can name the divisions from an official source than by one who invents a list.
What each division answers
The pattern is worth naming before the list, because it holds for almost every one of them. Nearly every division answers a question of the form "is this the same as that". That is why the reference sample and the chain of custody matter as much as the instruments.
| Division | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| Ballistics | was this bullet or cartridge case fired from this weapon, from what range, in what direction |
| Biology and DNA | is this blood, is it human, whose is it; and what does the profile show |
| Chemistry | what is this substance |
| Narcotics | is this a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance, which one, and how much |
| Explosive | what explosive was used, and what does the residue show |
| Forensic Electronics | what does this device contain, and has it been altered |
| Physics | do these marks, fragments, fibres, glass, paint or soil have a common origin |
| Toxicology | was a poison present in this body, and in what quantity |
| Questioned Documents | who wrote this, and has this document been altered |
The offices that are not laboratory divisions
Three important disciplines usually sit outside the laboratory, and a candidate who does not know this will describe the system wrongly.
Fingerprints. In most States this is a Finger Print Bureau under the police, not a laboratory division. Section 329(4)(c) names the Director of the Finger Print Bureau separately from the laboratory directors in clause (e), which confirms the separation.
Forensic medicine. The autopsy is done by a Civil Surgeon or other qualified medical person under section 194(3) of the Sanhita, in a hospital, not in the forensic science laboratory. The laboratory examines what the autopsy sends it.
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