The government plans to outsource the work of forensic and ballistic experts to accredited agencies to expedite the investigation and trial of criminal matters.
NEW DELHI: The government plans to outsource the work of forensic and ballistic experts to accredited agencies to expedite the investigation and trial of criminal matters.
"The home department will take all necessary steps to ensure that a notification under Section 293 (g) CrPC is issued as it would help in expediting the expert opinion on outsourcing/contract basis from accredited agencies under the supervision of government scientific experts," Joint Secretary
(Home) R N Sharma told Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau.
The outsourcing will aid investigations and also be helpful in filing experts' opinion on time in a court, said the official, who was asked by the court to explain the delay in filing a forensic report in a murder case.
The court also took strong note of police's failure to file forensic reports in time in as many as 38 cases.
"It is indeed shocking to note that forensic reports have not been received in the cases for the last five to six years. It is rather distressing to observe that both the investigating agency and FSL authorities do not seem to be bothered much," the court said.
Notably, Section 293 (g) of CrPC empowers the government to issue a notification to specify scientific experts who can file reports to be used as evidence during probes.
Sharma also informed the court that in heinous cases like murder, attempted murder, rape and trafficking of narcotics, directions have been issued to investigating officers to ensure that fingerprints and specimens of blood and semen are sent within a week to forensic labs for analysis.
Sharma appeared in the court after it issued a notice seeking an explanation on steps that had been taken to expedite the filing of reports in pending criminal cases.
He also suggested that if the reports of forensic laboratories are not disputed by persons facing trial, the prosecutors should avoid summoning experts, thereby "not putting them to the necessary harassment of coming to court to depose".
"Most of the time, the experts' whole day is wasted on appearing before a court to depose. Their mandatory appearance leaves very little time for them to attend their office to do their official duty of preparing FSL reports," Sharma said.
Taking his submissions into account, the court decided to send a separate report to the Delhi High Court, which had taken suo moto cognizance for the delay in filing forensic reports in criminal matters.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}