A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the respondent to strengthen the role of forensic science in crime scene investigation and to implement the Malimath Committee criminal justice reform 2003 suggestions for efficient investigation in criminal cases through forensic experts and advance technologies.
The PIL has been filed by Srikant Prasad and Vishal Kumar as In-person.
According to the petition, solving a criminal cases by efficient investigation with the help of forensics science and advance technology is a blessing for reaching the conclusion by courts as earliest. In today’s era, there is no apprehension in the mind of criminals in committing crime because only a few percent of people booked for criminal offences are finally convicted. The low rate of convictions points to the inefficiency of the criminal justice system of India.
The PIL states that destruction of evidences from the crime scene by non lifting Non preserving of crime scene which allows mitigating of evidences which causes lack of evidence in the hands of prosecution and takes years and years for disposing of cases and ultimately either on the benefit of doubt or due to lack of prima facie evidences (which are not lifted from scene due to unskilled police officers ) the accuse gets acquitted hence conviction rate reduced, this laxity had ousted the fear from the mind of criminals.
It was not possible for investigation and evidence tracing when the CrPC came in enactment so there is nothing mentioned about it but after an recommendation of Malimath Committee which stated for using forensic science for criminal case investigation by scientific methods but still neither the government nor forensic science department has paid any heed to it and everything was running as earlier for mere formalities, said the PIL
The petitioner submitted that though justice does not come with a single click or a blink to anybody. It takes several moves. Many people are misguided because of the idea of Hollywood movies or many web series, which shows that the cases are resolved within 1 hour, including advertisements. Reality isn’t the same. Lots of time, patience, energy, and many steps are involved in serving justice to an individual. Starting from the commission of the crime to police investigation, to court proceedings, and finally to judgments and convictions.
“In a progressive and democratic society, legitimacy has always been considered as a hallmark in the justice system. In bringing about justice, judges play a crucial role and have been viewed as the backbone of the justice system. With the advancement of time, there has been considerable development in the process of the judiciary system. Due to this, there has been remarkable penetration of technology and techniques in the process of solving crime. In this, forensic science proves to be the helping hand,”
-the petition highlighted.
The petitioner averred that the role of forensic science and evidence has extensive importance in the justice system. Thanks to the advancement in science and technology, there has been rapid development in forensic science as well. But after all this also there has been less dependence on the scientific methodologies, especially in India.
The petition pointed out that in India, there has been prominence on the incorporation of technologies in the field of investigation. Several commissions reports suggested that if courts consider the scientific method in delivering the judgments, it can bring fairness, which is the hallmark of democracy. But courts have been reluctant to consolidate forensic science in their system, majorly because of the experience of contaminating evidence and forged results. They prefer using the old, non-scientific methods for their purpose.
The PIL further stated that frequently there have been amendments in the laws to make ways for forensic science and modern technology but this hadn’t helped much. Investigating officers are unskilled in the subject and the number of forensic scientists and experts adds fuel in the fire. This field of law and science is not is quite notorious and thus has always faced the issue of lack of employers.
“The basic steps of criminal profiling include in-depth analysis of the crime scene, analyzing the incidence and drawing comparisons with similar events in the past, evaluation of the victim’s background and activities, considering all possible motives and preparing a detailed description of the suspects in order to compare it with previous cases.There can be more development in the country by making our forensic science grow. This can make strict rules on punishing the accused,”
-the PIL reads.