History of Development of Forensic Science in India

Forensic science can be defined as the application of scientific methods to civil and criminal cases. In
particular, forensic science deals with the analysis of evidence in legal cases. Forensic science means the
use of scientific methods and processes for crime solving.

Forensic science, also known as criminalistics,[1] is the application of science to criminal and civil laws.
During criminal investigation in particular, it is governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence
and criminal procedure. It is a broad field utilizing numerous practices such as the analysis of DNA,
fingerprints, bloodstain patterns, firearms, ballistics, and toxicology.

Forensic scientists collect, preserve, and analyze scientific evidence during the course of an
investigation. While some forensic scientists travel to the scene of the crime to collect the evidence
themselves, others occupy a laboratory role, performing analysis on objects brought to them by other
individuals.[2] Still others are involved in analysis of financial, banking, or other numerical data for use in
financial crime investigation, and can be employed as consultants from private firms, academia, or as
government employees

In addition to their laboratory role, forensic scientists testify as expert witnesses in both criminal and
civil cases and can work for either the prosecution or the defense. While any field could technically be
forensic, certain sections have developed over time to encompass the majority of forensically related
cases

The term forensic stems from the Latin word, forēnsis (3rd declension, adjective), meaning "of a forum,
place of assembly".[5] The history of the term originates in Roman times, when a criminal charge meant
presenting the case before a group of public individuals in the forum. Both the person accused of the
crime and the accuser would give speeches based on their sides of the story. The case would be decided
in favor of the individual with the best argument and delivery. This origin is the source of the two
modern usages of the word forensic—as a form of legal evidence; and as a category of public
presentation.

Scope of forensic science

The area of forensic science is so broad and diverse that currently it has become an essential
‘working horse’ for delivering justice. The present-day situation in India of criminal
investigations and prosecution is rather bleak. In India, a huge number of tracks end up in
releases. Both official and unofficial figures are included in it. When it’s official then it is about
90% and when it is unofficial the figure is even greater.

In India, the inquiry of crime and prosecution of people who have committed the crime is not
that great. Even in outrageous crimes a large number of offenders are not prosecuted and a few
proportions of trials end up in release or acquittal because of which several criminals along with
crimes are increasing regularly. These recurrent acquittals are primarily because of outdated
procedures of inquiry and investigation which lead to numerous ambiguities. Thus, for genuine
investigation scientific methods of investigation are required.
History of Development of Forensic Science in India

The application of science and technology to the detection and investigation of crime and
administration of justice is not new to India. Although our ancestors did not know forensic
science in its present form, scientific methods in one way or the other seem to have been
followed in the investigation of crime. Its detailed reference is found in Kautilya's Arthashastra,
which was written about 2300 years ago. Indians studied various patterns of the papillary lines,
thousands of years ago.
It is presumed that they knew about the persistency and individuality of fingerprints, which they
used as signatures. Even Mr. KM Kata, a frequent contributor to Nature, stated that the Chinese
records proved the use of fingerprints in an ancient kingdom of southern India.
The Indians knew for long that the handprints, known as the Tarija, were inimitable (unique).
The use of fingerprints as signatures by illiterate people in India, introduced centuries ago, was
considered by some people as ceremonial only, till it was scientifically proved that identification
from fingerprints was infallible (Flawless, Perfect).

Chemical Examiner's LaboratoriesDuring the nineteenth century, when the

cases of death due to poisoning posed a problem to the law enforcement agencies, a need was felt
for isolating, detecting and estimating various poisons absorbed in the human system. The first
Chemical Examiner's Laboratory was, therefore, set up for this purpose at the then Madras
Presidency, under the Department of Health, during 1849.

Later, similar laboratories were set up at Calcutta (1853), followed by one each at Agra (1864)
and Bombay (1870). These laboratories were equipped to handle toxicological analysis of
internal organs, biological analysis of stains of blood, semen, etc. and chemical analysis of food,
drugs, and various excisable materials to provide scientific support to the criminal justice
delivery system within their limited means. These laboratories also provided analytical facilities
to the neighbouring States and Union Territories.

Anthropometric Bureau While some progress was made in the identification of

poisons, the identification of people, specifically criminals, was still being done in a rather
haphazard manner. Policemen would try to memorize convict's face so that they could recognize
him if he got involved in another crime later. With the introduction of Photography, the Criminal
Investigation Department (CID) maintained records of every known criminal including a detailed
description of his appearance.
With the invention of Bertillon's anthropometric system in 1878, India, along with the other
countries of the world, adapted Bertillon's system of personnel identification and thus an
Anthropometric Bureau, for maintaining anthropornetric records of criminals, was established in
1892 at Calcutta.

Finger Print Bureau William Herschel, the Collector of the District of Hooghly
(Bengal) found that markings on the fingertips of a person never changed during his lifetime.
Herschel applied his knowledge and skill in devising a system of registration of finger or thumb
impressions of native contractors to safeguard the interests of the Government against the
refutation of contracts by them. Thereafter, he extended his registration procedure to prison
regulations for identifying convicted criminals.

In 1877, Herschel sought the consent of his superior officers in putting his ideas into practice, but
did not succeed. In 1891, Edward Richard Henry's appointment, the Inspector General of Police
in Bengal, introduced the thumb impressions in the record slips, containing anthropometric data,
to avoid wrong identification. Long before 1897, he introduced maintenance of duplicate
criminal records with impressions of 10 fingers separately.

Department of explosives
When the use of explosives for subversive activities became common, it was found necessary to
detect the causes of explosion, either accidental or intentional. The foundation of the Department
of Explosives was laid when the first chief inspector of explosives was appointed in the year
1898, with his headquarters at Nagpur. Later, five regional offices at Calcutta, Bombay, Agra,
Madras and Gwalior, and three sub-offices were opened.

They developed competence to provide scientific clues in respect of explosives as well as the
possible causes of explosions. Their expertise came handy in police investigations in the crimes
related to explosions and for evolving various provisions under the Explosives & Petroleum Act.

Government examiner of questioned document, Shimla

The British Government of Bengal felt the necessity of identifying the handwritings on the secret
documents connected with the Indian independence movement and, therefore, created the post of
Government Handwriting Expert of Bengal. Mr. CR Hardless, was appointed to this post in
1904.

This set-up was shifted to Shimla in the year 1906 and was placed under the control of the
Director, CID. A post of Handwriting Expert for the Government of India was created and Mr.
CR Hardless was appointed to this post. He was replaced by Mr. F Brewester, a police officer
from the West Bengal CID, and was designated as the Government Examiner of Questioned
Documents (GEQD).

At first, the work of this office was mainly confined to the identification of writings on secret
documents. Later, as the application of this branch of science was felt in many other cases, the
services of this office were thrown open to criminal as well as civil court cases. During the
World War II, this organization took up the additional work of secret censorship, including the
detection of invisible writings and training of military personnel in this field of science.

Footprint section of criminal investigation department

During the year 1915, a Footprint Section was established under the CID, Government of
Bengal, which helped the police authorities to identify criminals through the examination of
footprints collected from the scene of crime.
Ballistics LaboratoryIn 1930, an Arms Expert was appointed and a small ballistic
laboratory was set up under the Calcutta Police to deal with the examination of firearms. As the
threat of firearms grew, other State CIDs also established small ballistics laboratories to help
them in the criminal investigation.

State Forensic Science laboratory, Calcutta

The first state forensic science laboratory in India was established in the year 1952 at Calcutta.
This laboratory became fully operational in the year 1953. The Medico-legal Section of the
Chemical Examiner's Laboratory was also transferred to this laboratory. During the year 1955, a
small unit of Physics was established in the West Bengal State Forensic Science Laboratory to
deal with various physical examinations of exhibits encountered in crime investigation. During
the year 1957, the Physics unit developed into a full-fledged Physics Section.

Central finger print Bureau

On the recommendations of the Royal Police Commission of 1902-03, the first Central Finger
Print Bureau (CFPB) in India was established in 1905 at Shimla. The CFPB started functioning
from 1955 in Delhi under the administrative control of Intelligence Bureau (IB). The major role
envisaged for CFPB was to coordinate the activities of State in tracing/locating inter-state
criminals.

Indian Academy of Forensic Science

The Indian Academy of Forensic Sciences (IAFS) was established in the year 1960. This
academy started a biennial scientific journal, which served as a forum for the exchange of ideas
in forensic science with the other international bodies. The role of the Academy was also to hold
annual scientific meetings/seminars or assist in holding seminars in forensic science. In fact, it
was at the instance of this Academy that the Government of India established the Neutron
Activation Analysis Unit to cater for the forensic needs in the country.

Institute of Criminology & Forensic Science at New Delhi

After a series of debates at the Government level, it was decided that initially the Institute of
Criminology and Forensic Science should be established only for training the in-service
personnel and for conducting research in the field of forensic science. It was felt that unless the
State governments and the consumer organizations agreed to participate in the scheme, it would
not be wise to start courses for granting postgraduate degrees. However, the ultimate objective of
the Institute was to develop into a full-fledged academic institution affiliated to a university.
With the above aim in view, the Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science (ICFS) was
established in Delhi during 1971 with the limited objectives of imparting training to the in-
service personnel and conducting research in Criminology and Forensic Science.

It was also envisaged that the Institute should have two distinct faculties viz. the Faculty of
Criminology and the Faculty of Forensic Science and both should have a number of eminent
teachers and researchers with adequate background and field experience.

Branches of Forensic Science

Forensic Science is an interdisciplinary science that involves the exploitation of various general and
applied fields of science. It involves the application of knowledge of basic sciences in the arena of crime
and crime scene for the purpose of investigation and administration of justice in the court of law. The
goal is to provide reliable evidence that can approve the commission of crime and guilt of the criminal,
along with disapproving the presence of an innocent person and the way in which the victim was
victimisTo make this goal of providing evidences as a proof involves a lot of searching and examination
of various evidence material with utter precision, so to make sure that the precision is not lost and the
evidence are not mixed it was divided into various branches depending upon the nature of the evidence
like if the evidence is biological fluids or other biological material it will be dealt in Forensic Biology
branch and if the evidence material is a firearm or bullet it will be dealt in forensic ballistic division and
so on. Some of the most common Branches of Forensic science are:

1. Forensic Biology and Serology

Out of the many branches of forensic science, biology is the most talked about and plays a cardinal role
in criminal investigation. It deals with biological body fluids such as blood, semen, saliva, urine, and
other biological evidence such as tissue, muscles, bone, hair, nails, pollen, diatoms, insects, wood etc. It
involves various chemical tests such as colorimetric analysis and crystallisation tests along with high end
tools and techniques such as spectrometry and transmission electron microscope.

2. Forensic Chemistry
Forensic Chemistry deals with evidence such as adulterated food and liquors, evidence related to
petroleum and its products in cases of arson and adulteration, evidence related to explosion and
explosive materials. Evidence material such as adulterated alcoholic beverages, non alcoholic beverages,
carbonated beverages, fruit juices, adulterated drugs of abuse, petrol, diesel, explosive material such as
gunpowder, RDX, PETN, HMX, Nitroglycerine,nitrocellulose, fuses, sulphur oxides, cordite sticks etc are
examined under this Branch of forensic science.

3. Forensic Physics
Forensic physics branch of forensic science deals with trace evidences that are physical in nature such
as fibres, glass, toolmarks, paint and paint chips, cement, and other building materials, soil, restoration
of serial number, chassis number, gait pattern , shoe print, foot print etc.Such evidences are mainly
collaborative in nature.
4. Forensic Toxicology
After forensic biology, forensic toxicology is one of the most used branches of forensic science to solve a
criminal case. It involves evidence materials that we come across in the cases of poisioning, drug
intoxication or overdose, suicide due to intake of any material, death to unnatural circumstances etc.
Here we analyse viscera, blood, urine, contaminated food and beverages, intoxicants, drugs, medicine
etc.

5. Forensic DNA Fingerprinting

Among the branches of forensic science this is the most important, reliable and widely used branch.It
helps in individualization of the evidence material that is biological in nature.Cases related to
establishment of identity, parentage testing, unidentified body, mass murder, badly decomposed body
or skeletonized body, skeletal remains, sexual assault etc are dealth with the help of DNA fingerprinting
branch.

6. Forensic Medicine
This branch of forensic science mainly deals with the questions such as the cause of death, time of death
, postmortem changes , wounds and injuries. The postmortem examination and report is the basic
expertise of this branch of forensic science. Most of the hospitals have a branch of forensic medicine
and it requires a specialised doctoral degree in forensic medicine to be an expert.

7. Forensic Anthropology
Forensic Anthropology deals with the anthropological evidence such as skeletal remains , skeletonized
body or just some parts of bone. It helps in estimating the origin (human / non human), age, gender,
race, height, any skeletal injury, medical history etc of the skeletal remains. The sub branch of forensic
anthropology i.e Forensic Odontology also helps in individualisation using evidence such as teeth, bite
marks etc. Reconstruction of the face is also done using superimposition of the skeletal remains of the
skull or full skull with the help of high end softwares.

8. Questioned Document
Questioned document deals with the suspicious forms of documents that are in question. This branch
helps in solving both civil and criminal cases. Questioned documents such as a forged signature,
counterfeit currency, suicide letters, anonymous letterrs, forged passport, financial documents, burnt
document, printed or xeroxed document, ink and paper are dealth in this branch. Handwriting analysis
and examination is a broad sub branch of this branch.
9. Fingerprint Branch
Fingerprint is the second most reliable evidence that has high evidentiary value in forensics after DNA.
No two individuals can have the same fingerprints, not even twins. The fingerprints discovered at the
crime scene could be either full or partial , latent, patent and plastic in nature that are first developed
for visualisation and then photographed and then finally collected using various fingerprinting methods
and techniques depending on the surface on which it is found. The sample fingerprints are also collected
from the people involved. Palm prints are also sometimes considered as collaborative evidence if found
at the crime scene.

10. Forensic Ballistic

The branch of forensic ballistics deals with the firearms such as pistols; revolvers; rifles etc, ammunition
such as bullet; primer; propellant; pellets and wads, fired bullets and cartridge case, gunshot residue,
improvised firearms, country made firearms, marks on ammunition such as pin mark; breach face mark
etc, and Gun- shot wounds.

11. Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychology is one of the most interesting branches of forensics and it deals with the
interrogative and counselling part of the people involved in the crime like the culprit, victim, witnesses
etc. Tests such as Polygraph i.e lie detection, Narco Analysis, Brain Fingerprinting etc are utilised in the
investigative procedure. Other psychometric tests, projective psychological tests such as the Rorschach
test are also done. Psychological post traumatic stress disorder counselling is also done of the victims.

12. Digital Forensic

This branch of forensic science is one of the most important branches nowadays, as due to digitalization
most of the crimes have its traces in digital and electronic form. The cyberspace has also been infiltrated
with criminals and crimes that makes the digital forensic branch a crucial one. The electronic evidence
material such as electronic devices ( laptop, PC, Cellphone, tabs, router etc) are first identified and then
acquired, processed, and analysed. Finally the data recovered is reported in the form of digital evidence.
Cyber crimes such as phishing, malware attack, pornography, stalking etc are also dealt in the sub
branch of digital forensic i.e Cyber Forensics.

13. Forensic Accounting

It is one of the novel branches of forensic science. It deals with the financial and accounting records that
becomes a form of evidence when a financial fraud or crime is committed in any company, insurance
companies and financial institutions.Such kinds of financial frauds and manipulation needs extreme
detailed analysis or auditing, and therefore could only be performed by a skillful and reliable forensic
accountant. Corporates and financial institutions have started having separate posts for them lately and
it has also become a well paid job option.