Law of Forensic Science Notes | LL.B. (Three Years) Semester 5 | SPPU | munotes

Contents

Module 01 Introduction to Forensic Science

1. What Forensic Science Is 1
2. The Principles Forensic Science Rests On 6
3. The Scope of Forensic Science, and Where It Stops 11
4. How the Subject Grew Abroad 15
5. Before the Laboratories: India Before 1849 20
6. The Chemical Examiners to Government 24
7. Anthropometry, and Why India Abandoned It 28
8. The Fingerprint Bureau of 1897 32
9. The Serologist to the Government 36
10. The Scientific Sections of the Police 40
11. The Committees and Commissions 44
12. The Statutes: 1920 to 2022 48
13. The Three New Criminal Laws of 2023 52
14. Where Indian Forensic Science Stands Now 56
15. Forensic Science and Jurisprudence: Modus Operandi, Corpus Delicti and Criminal Profiling 60
16. Article 20(3) and the Evidence the Body Carries 65
17. Consent, and the Limits on Involuntary Techniques 69
18. Article 21, Privacy and the Holding of Forensic Data 74
19. The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act 2022 78
20. The Criminal Justice System of India 83
21. Forensic Science as an Integral Component 87
22. How Forensic Evidence Reaches a Criminal Trial 91
23. The Expert Witness: Section 39(1) 95
24. The Forensic Expert at the Crime Scene: Section 176(3) 100
25. Where the System Fails 104

Module 02 Crime Scene Management, Collection of Evidence and Crime Scene Investigation

1. Crime Scene Management 108
2. Seizure, Sealing and Forwarding an Exhibit 112
3. The Chain of Custody 116
4. Forensic Photography and Videography 121
5. What a Forensic Science Laboratory Does 125
6. How a Laboratory Is Divided 129
7. The State Forensic Science Laboratories 132
8. The Central Forensic Science Laboratories 135
9. The Bureau of Police Research and Development, and the Directorate 138
10. The National Crime Records Bureau and the Finger Print Bureaux 141
11. The National Forensic Sciences University Act 2020 145
12. Forensic Physics and the Instruments 148
13. Ultraviolet and Infrared in Crime Detection 151
14. The Other Divisions a Laboratory Holds 154
15. Reports of Government Scientific Experts: Section 329 158
16. When the Expert Need Not Be Called: Section 330 162
17. The Successor in Office: Section 336 166
18. The Forensic Report, Its Format, and Preparing to Testify 170
19. Examination-in-Chief, Cross-Examination and Re-Examination 174

Module 03 Forensic Science & Law of Evidence

1. Inquest and Post-Mortem: Section 194 178
2. Summons 183
3. How Evidence Is Recorded 189
4. Medical Examination of the Arrested Person: Sections 51 to 53 196
5. Medical Examination of the Victim: Section 184 201
6. Dying Declarations 205
7. Recording and Weighing a Dying Declaration 211
8. The Medical Witness in Court 217
9. Facts Bearing on the Opinion of Experts: Section 40 221
10. The Weight of Expert Evidence 225
11. Admitting Scientific Evidence: The Frye and Daubert Standards, and the Indian Test 230
12. The Government Examiner of Questioned Documents 234
13. Questioned Documents: What the Branch Is 238
14. Handwriting Identification 242
15. Signatures and the Classes of Forgery 246
16. Opinion as to Handwriting and Signature: Section 41 250
17. When the Court Compares for Itself: Section 72 254
18. Specimen Signatures, Handwriting and Voice Samples: Section 349 259
19. Alterations, Erasures, Obliterations and Indented Writing 263
20. Ink, Paper, Typescript and Printing 267
21. Counterfeit Currency 271
22. Questioned Document Evidence in an Indian Court 275

Module 04 Forensic Psychology and Forensic Science

1. Forensic Psychology and the Detection of Deception 279
2. Brain Electrical Activation Profile and Brain Mapping 283
3. Narco-Analysis 287
4. The Polygraph 291
5. The Constitutional Line Across All Three 295
6. The NHRC Guidelines and the Selvi Safeguards for Polygraph, Narco-Analysis and Brain Mapping 299

Module 05 Scientific Investigation Techniques

1. Forensic Biology: What the Branch Is 303
2. Blood: Is It Blood, Whose Species, Whose Group 307
3. Serology: Semen, Saliva and the Other Fluids 311
4. Hair, Fibre and Botanical Trace 315
5. DNA and DNA Profiling 319
6. DNA Evidence in Indian Criminal Courts 323
7. DNA in Paternity and Other Civil Questions 327
8. India Has No DNA Statute 331
9. The DNA Bills, and Why India Still Has No DNA Statute 334
10. Fingerprints: The Three Principles 338
11. Fingerprint Patterns and Their Types 342
12. Classification, and the Henry System 346
13. Developing and Lifting a Latent Print 350
14. Comparison, Points of Similarity, and the Automated Systems 354
15. Fingerprint Evidence in an Indian Court 358
16. Forensic Chemistry: What the Branch Is 362
17. Forensic Toxicology: What the Branch Is 365
18. The Classes of Poison, and How Each Is Detected 369
19. Viscera, Sampling and the Chemical Examiner's Report 373
20. Narcotic Drugs, Their Analysis, and the Quantity Question 377
21. Alcohol, Its Estimation, and Drunken Driving 381
22. Forensic Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence 386
23. The Medico-Legal Autopsy 390
24. Identification of the Living and the Dead 394
25. Time Since Death 397
26. Injuries and Wounds 401
27. Asphyxial Deaths 405
28. Sexual Offences and the Medical Evidence 409
29. Age Determination and the Law 413
30. Forensic Anthropology: What the Branch Is 417
31. The Analysis of Human Bones 420
32. Superimposition and Facial Reconstruction 424
33. Forensic Odontology 427

Module 06 Recent Advances in Forensic Science and the Laws

1. Forensic Ballistics: What the Branch Is 431
2. Firearms and Their Classification 435
3. Internal, External and Terminal Ballistics 439
4. Rifling, Striations and the Identification of a Firearm 443
5. Cartridge Cases, Firing Pin and Breech Face Marks 447
6. Range of Fire, and Entry and Exit Wounds 450
7. Gunshot Residue 454
8. Ballistics Evidence in an Indian Court 458
9. Explosives, Arson and Fire Debris 462
10. Explosive Trace Detection and the Portable Bomb Sniffer 466
11. Digital and Cyber Forensics 471
12. The Examiner of Electronic Evidence: Section 39(2) 475
13. Electronic Records in Evidence: Section 63 and the Certificate 479
14. Mobile Device Forensics and Location Evidence 484
15. Voice and Speaker Identification 489
16. Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Policing 493
17. Facial Recognition 497