Autopsy...
Autopsy...
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cases without autopsy. Comparison of clinical diagnosis with autopsy findings has 50%
disagreement and in half of these cases, the disagreement of facts and not merely of opinion.
Standard autopsy suite
Standard autopsy suite should consist of autopsy room, storage area for corpse and material
such as chemicals, disinfectants and instruments, offices for the staff, medical record room,
waiting area for public and private and public toilets. The principle of design of autopsy suite
is that the waiting area should be near the entry, corpse entry; exit of autopsy should be wide,
unobstructed and preferably separate from the entry door for public. The floor and walls of
autopsy room should be impervious preferably bearing ice blue tiles for easy cleaning and
washing.
Requirements of autopsy room
It includes plenty of running water, sufficient light, and efficient ventilation, proper
arrangements for sterilizations, refrigeration, and dissection. The autopsy room should kept
thoroughly clean, well ventilated and properly illuminated and can be likened to an operation
theatre with the difference that infection if any, must remain contained with autopsy room.
The staff should enter after wearing autopsy suits including rubber boots.
Autopsy room light
It should be natural sunlight, which should preferably come from North side. Alternately,
daylight- lamp, specially made for the purpose should be white light, in case of non-
availability of day light-lamps, ordinary ice-blue fluorescent electric tubes are recommended
for the purpose. The amount of light should be sufficient to differentiate various shades of
skin color due to disease, trauma or putrefaction. A minimum of lumens of light at table level
is sufficient. There should be numerous electrical outlets covered with water proof screw
caps, x-ray illuminator, cameras and video recorders.
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Protocol of medico- legal autopsy
Because of legal implications, it is specified and very important. Before the start of work, the
medical examiner should satisfy him that he has valid written authority addressed to him for
the job. It comes either from police or court in the form of a written reference. Before start of
actual autopsy examination, he should carefully go through all the relevant papers keeping in
mind the recommended working protocol and specific objectives of medico- legal autopsy. A
protocol of medico-legal autopsy is a signed document containing a written record which can
be used as proof for something when required. An Autopsy Protocol is a document
containing a written record of autopsy findings which can be used as proof for cause of death,
manner of death, and time elapsed since death. It is in reality a word picture to help the reader
visualize what has been seen at autopsy and how the conclusions have been arrived at.
Accordingly, it must contain all the positive and important negative findings. The Autopsy
Report should be prepared in simple English in a readable form without using technical
jargon whenever possible. It should be self explanatory. Where the report is likely to be the
subject of the criminal or civil proceedings, it should be prepared in good detail so that the
ultimate conclusions unfold themselves as a logical consequence of observations made at
autopsy. As rule, an Autopsy Report should normally contain data regarding preliminary
particulars; external examination, including findings at the scene; internal examination with
special reference to detailed examination of stomach and its contents; special examinations
and investigations; and opinion. The report should state the Authority ordering the post-
mortem; the name of the deceased; the date, place and time the body was received; the date,
place and time of commencing and completion of autopsy; and the name of persons
identifying the body or the means by which the body was identified. An overall account of
external examination including findings at the scene, a list of clothing and their condition,
and a detailed description of injuries including their age is given. The details are recorded in
an orderly manner indeed numbered headings with special reference to photographs or
sketches of I’d that are prepared. The presence or absence of injuries noted at the inquest is
specifically mentioned. This is followed by a complete description of internal examination.
This part of the report contains detailed description of stomach and its contents and general
condition of the other viscera. Irrelevant and unimportant descriptions of organs are avoided.
While performing microscopic studies or special examinations like radiography, the findings
are recorded. Details of samples, tissues and organs removed and preserved are also recorded
at this stage. The core of a medico-legal Autopsy Protocol is really the evidence as regards
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cause of death, mainly violence and poisoning. Therefore, all the injuries should be numbered
and summarized at the end in one coherent paragraph to provide an overview of the entire
injury pattern. Any evidence of poisoning should be similarly recorded. Any disease, if
present, should be described in a separate paragraph specifically, along with its role, if any, in
the causation of death. Generally, medico-legal postmortem autopsy is requested by the
Police under Section 174 of Cr.Pc, Magistrate under Section 176 of Cr.pc.
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c) I am of the opinion that Mr. XYZ, an 82 year old man, died as a result of coronary
thrombosis caused by gradual narrowing of the small arteries that supply blood to the
heart. No injuries of significance were found at autopsy. Other conditions contributing to
death should also be mentioned. The opinion is given in the form of a certificate by filling
all its columns. This should be followed by the signature, qualifications and designation
of the Medical officer.
3) To determine time since death,
4) To collect trace evidence, e.g. injury by which weapon or poison in body
5) To find factual, objective and medical information for law enforcing agencies and court
6) To document injuries, and diseases.
7) To determine the intra-uterine/gestational age of the fetus, ultimately aiming to know
whether the fetus was viable or not (to assess the viability of the fetus)
8) If viable, to determine whether it was born alive (live birth) or dead (dead birth/stillbirth)
9) If born alive, to determine the period of survival after birth, the cause, and manner of
death.
Pre-examination formalities
As the name indicates, it should precede performance of actual autopsy. On receipt of corpse,
authorized staff should make entries in two registers, general register and an autopsy register.
General register:
Serial number
Date and time of receipt corpse
Name and identity number of deceased
Name and number of constable and his police station
Date and time of delivery of corpse
Autopsy register:
Yearly number
Autopsy number
Name date and time of autopsy
Details about specimens collected and laboratory where sent
Provisional/final conclusion regard of death
Autopsy procedure
A complete or full autopsy should be performed to ascertain the definitive cause of death.
Incomplete autopsies including limited autopsies, needle autopsies, or endoscopic autopsies
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that are comparatively less invasive or non-invasive are not routinely considered in forensic
practice. Nevertheless, the legal authority can sanction postmortem examinations that are not
complete. In incidents of mass disasters where identification of the deceased is the priority,
only external postmortem examination with or without being followed up by ancillary
investigations related to forensic identification takes place at times in the developing world.
In such circumstances of mass disasters where comparative DNA analysis is not an option,
non-identification or misidentification of the deceased is not uncommon Recommendations
are that DNA-based identification of all the victims of mass disasters be made mandatory and
considered in addition to other corroborative findings related to identification even in a
developing country. A complete autopsy on the bodies of the pilot and co-pilot in an air-crash
incident is a must as it can discover pilot-related factors (for example, a disease condition
causing sudden natural death, the presence of alcohol or drugs on toxicological analysis) that
can cause the air-crash disaster. A complete autopsy on the bodies of other air-passengers is
not mandatory in many jurisdictions across the globe. A complete forensic autopsy includes
an external examination of the body (including the examination of clothes and accessories on
the body), internal examination, and collection and preservation of various materials for any
indicated ancillary investigations.
The interiorly placed I-shaped incision is the most common body surface skin incision
employed to open up the thoracic and abdominal cavities. The other two commonly
employed conventional skin incisions include the Y-shaped incision and modified Y-shaped
incision. The reflection of the skin by an X-shaped incision of the back and limbs is
advocated to detect and evaluate hidden subcutaneous hemorrhages in custodial deaths.
The coronal incision is the commonly employed skin incision employed to open up the
cranial cavity. The scalp is incised in the coronal plane, beginning at the mastoid process,
behind the ear, running across the vertex, to reach the opposite mastoid. Thus a bi-mastoid
incision of the scalp along the coronal plane is employed.
The following are the four illustrated autopsy techniques that are described in the "Handbook
of Autopsy Practice" by Jorgen Ludwig and elsewhere.
1. Technique of Virchow
This technique employs organ removal, one by one
2. Technique of Rokitansky
This technique uses in-situ dissection of organs
3. Technique of Ghon
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In this technique, cervical and thoracic organs, organs in the abdomen, and the
urogenital system are removed as separate organ blocks ("en bloc" removal
4. Technique of Letulle
A technique wherein cervical, thoracic and abdominal organs are removed as a
single organ block ("en masse" removal) is usually practiced
In addition to a complete and meticulous dissection of the dead body, the
following should also be taken care of as a part of a forensic autopsy:
Obtaining photographs and video films for future evidential use in the Court of
Law
Retaining samples (body viscera and fluids) for chemical/toxicological
analysis, histopathological/microscopic examination, and/or other
ancillary investigations as stated above
Restoring the autopsied body to the best possible cosmetic condition before
handing over to the concerned legal authority
Providing a detailed written postmortem examination report of the autopsy
findings, and their inferences concluded based on scientific reasoning
The commonly considered autopsy ancillary investigations include
chemical/toxicological analysis of body viscera and fluids and
histopathological/microscopic examination of various organs.
The other ancillary investigations (not an inclusive list) include the
examination of:
Blood for grouping
Viscera and blood for microbiological culture
Body fluids for postmortem chemistry (thanatochemistry)
For example, evaluation of the potassium levels in the vitreous humor is useful
in estimating the time since death during an autopsy in the early postmortem
period
Vaginal swabs, anal swabs, swabs from bite marks, etc
Stains on the skin or fabric/clothing
Material for DNA typing
The Certificate about the cause of death is issued within 24 hours after conducting the
autopsy. In cases of poisoning, in decomposed bodies and/or when the cause of death requires
further examination, such as chemical or microscopic, the opinion as to the cause of death is
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reserved pending such examination. When the result of such examination is known, the
opinion regarding the cause of death is furnished.
In some cases, in spite of a thorough post-mortem examination, chemical analysis and
microscopic examination, the cause of death cannot be arrived at. It is only such
circumstances, that the medical officer is justified in mentioning the cause of death as
undetermined, and the manner of death also undetermined. The investigation officer may still
precede with the case, if he so desires, depending on the circumstantial evidence.
Autopsy Protocol is a vital and most relevant record of the cause of death and/or unnatural
termination of life and hence, the greatest and the minutest care should be undertaken while
making the Autopsy Report.
I. External examination in autopsy:
1. The examination of the clothing and worn accessories is an essential part of the
external examination and all findings are to be clearly described. This is especially
important in cases where the clothing or accessories have been damaged or soiled:
each area of recent damage must be described fully and relevant findings are to be
related to the site of injuries on the corpse. Discrepancies in such findings are also to
be described.
2. All signs of recent or old medical and surgical intervention and resuscitation must be
described. Medical devices must not be removed from the body before the
intervention of the medico-legal expert.
3. The external examination should include:
i) age, sex, build, height and weight, nutritional state, skin color and special
characteristics (such as scars, tattoos or amputations);
ii) post-mortem changes, including details relating to rigor and livores - distribution,
especially their intensity, color and reversibility - and putrefaction and
environmentally induced changes;
iii) findings on a primary external inspection which, if required, include sampling of
stains and other trace evidence on the body surface and a reinsertion after removal
and cleaning of the body;
iv) Inspection of the skin including the posterior or downwardly facing surfaces of the
corpse; e. careful inspection of the head and the facial orifices. This includes hair
and beard , nasal skeleton, lips, oral mucosa, dentition and tongue, ears (retro-
auricular areas and external meat), eyes (color of irises and sclera, regularity and
appearance of pupils, sclera, conjunctivae), skin (including a description of
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presence or absence of petechiae); if fluids have been evacuated from facial
orifices, their appearance, color and odor;
v) inspection of the neck: checking for excessive mobility and/or creptiation,
presence and absence of abrasions, other marks and bruising (including petechiae)
over the entire circumference of the neck;
vi) inspection of the thorax: shape and stability, breasts (aspect, nipples and
pigmentation);
vii) inspection of the abdomen: external bulging, pigmentation, scars, abnormalities
and bruising;
viii) Inspection of the anus, perineum and genitals;
ix) inspection of the extremities: shape and abnormal mobility, abnormalities;
injection marks and scars; palmar surfaces, finger and toe nails;
x) Material findings under fingernails.
4. Injuries must be described and documented.
II. Internal examination
A. General
1. Relevant artifacts produced by sampling procedures must be documented.
2. The opening of the three body cavities is standard procedure.
3. Examination and description of body cavities includes: an examination regarding the
possibility of gas being present (pneumothorax), measuring the volume of fluids and
blood, regarding the appearance of internal surfaces, examining the intactness of
anatomical boundaries, assessing the external appearance of organs and their location
and detecting adhesions and cavity obliterations, injuries and hemorrhages.
4. Organs must be examined following the general principles of pathological anatomy.
5. All internal lesions and injuries must be precisely described by size and location.
Injury tracks must be described in order to include their direction in relation to the
organ anatomy.
B. Detailed
1. Head the technique used for the examination of the cranium must be adequate for the
assessment of the scalp, temporal muscles, skull, meninges, cerebrospinal fluid, main
blood vessels, and crania-vertebral junction.
2. Thorax and neck the opening of the thorax must be performed using a technique
which allows for the demonstration of the presence of a pneumothorax and the
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inspection of the thoracic walls, including the postero-lateral regions. In situ
dissection of the neck must display the details of its anatomy.
3. Abdomen The opening procedure of the abdomen must allow for an accurate
examination of all layers of the walls. In situ dissection is necessary in certain cases.
The whole intestine should be dissected and its contents described.
4. Skeleton a. The examination of the thoracic cage, the spine and the pelvis is part of
the autopsy procedure. b. Where appropriate traumatic (violent) deaths need a precise
dissection of the limbs, possibly complemented by imaging procedures.
5. Special procedures
i) For the demonstration of particular injury patterns, a deviation from the standard
autopsy procedure are acceptable, provided that such procedures are specifically
described in the autopsy report.
ii) If there is any suspicion of neck trauma, the brain and thoracic organs are to be
removed prior to the dissection of the neck, to enable detailed bloodless
dissection.
iii) In cases of suspected gas embolism, pre-autopsy imaging procedures should be
performed. The autopsy technique must enable the forensic pathologist to
diagnose an eventual gas embolism, to estimate the gas volume in the heart and to
sample the intravascular gas.
iv) Where appropriate, the examination should include a full exposure of the soft
tissues and musculature on the back of the body. The same procedure must be
applied to the extremities (so called "peel-of" procedure).
v) In suspected or obvious sexual assault, the sexual organs are to be removed "en
bloc" together with the external genitalia, rectum and anus, before they are
dissected. Relevant swabs of orifices and cavities must be taken prior to this
procedure.
vi) Sampling this is to be performed in accordance to the SGRM/SSML/SSLM
Guidelines for preserving autopsy material for forensic-toxicological analyses.
vii) Release of the body after a medico-legal autopsy has been carried out the body has
to be returned in a dignified condition. This includes suturing of all incisions, and,
if necessary and as far as possible, of facial injuries. The body should contain all
internal organs. If whole organs are retained must be documented in the autopsy
protocol.
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Negative Autopsy
An autopsy without any positive findings that fails to reveal the cause of death with gross,
microscopic, toxicological, and other necessary ancillary investigations is said to be a
negative autopsy.
Obscure Autopsy
A complete, meticulous autopsy with its ancillaries that fails to serve the purpose of
ascertaining the cause of death, despite the presence of trivial/unclear/obscure findings, is
termed an obscure autopsy. An ill-informed opinion often turns out to be worse than no
opinion at all. Absent an opinion, the legal authority investigating the death will be at least
aware of the lacunae in his/her evidence/investigation, rather than deceived by the speculative
or orchestrated statements made by the autopsy surgeon/forensic pathologist.
In general, a negative or obscure autopsy is one where the cause of death remains
unascertained despite a complete, meticulous autopsy including ancillary laboratory tests.
Such autopsies where the cause of death remains undermined despite a meticulous work-up
of the cases are not uncommon in forensic practice. With advanced laboratory investigation
techniques, the cause of death in otherwise obscure autopsies is determined. Nevertheless,
forensic autopsies may conclude as either negative or obscure even in recent times.
Second Autopsy
A second autopsy is the one that follows the first autopsy on the same body. Some of the
circumstances for a second autopsy include a repatriated body and exhumation of a
previously autopsied body.
Exhumation
Exhumation is the lawful disinterment of a previously buried body, for medico-legal
purposes, where a postmortem examination is an imperative task. The exhumation is
followed by either the first autopsy or a re-autopsy in light of new suspicious
information. Exhumation followed by an autopsy conducted for medico legal purposes is also
an important tool for education and training of forensic specialty related residents or
postgraduate students.
Exhumations are usually carried out for one of the following reasons
Where new relevant information or substantiated allegations suggesting death due to
criminal action, either from poison or injury, arise:
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o For instance, in Tunisia, a body buried in 1979 without an autopsy was
exhumed in 2011 more than 30 years later as the relatives were doubtful of the
reported cause of death
o A forensic autopsy conducted on an exhumed body in Switzerland a year after
burial revealed the actual cause of death with the revision of the manner of
death from natural to accidental
o The first president of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat's
remains were exhumed in 2012 - the new probe into Arafat’s 2004 death came
after a Swiss laboratory reported traces of a deadly radioactive isotope,
Polonium-210, on his clothing
Where confirmation of identity is deemed necessary for various civil and criminal
purposes
Where the first postmortem examination report is inexplicable or ambiguous
There must be stringent measures in place to identify the grave and the coffin (if applicable)
so that there is no mistake in exhuming the body to be autopsied.
Autopsy Artifacts
The interpretation of the external and internal postmortem examination findings is of utmost
importance to the criminal justice system as the autopsy surgeon's expert opinion has a
bearing on the outcome of the case decided by the Court of Law. In this context, the autopsy
surgeon should be aware of artifacts (resuscitation artifacts, axonal artifacts, and postmortem
artifacts) that may be present during an autopsy.
To quote, "A postmortem artifact is regarded as any change produced in the body or any
feature introduced into the body, after death that often leads to much confusion about its
nature and causation, and often results in misinterpretation of medico legally significant ante
mortem findings or is itself wrongly considered as a significant ante mortem finding". The
changes that occur during the axonal period and the injuries introduced during resuscitative
measures may also pose interpretative difficulties to the autopsy surgeon.
Factors Affecting Medico-legal Performance
The medico legal work these days like modern day life is very much complicated. Disputing
a scientifically correct but unfavorable report has become a part and parcel of the medico
legal culture. Trend to get the medico legal results hurriedly in a desired fashion tattoo
authoritatively, is as common as it is to rejection unfavorable opinion. The medico-social
issues related to medico-legal performance include:
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a) Risky: Medico legal work at times is very difficult and risky because there are more pro
of one’s being disputed, criticized and challenged by many on many occasions for many
reasons.
b) Controversy: The medico legal work is highly controversial. Both the aggrieved and the
opposite party seem to be keen to interpret the medical observations to their benefit and
interests and mismatching of the medico-legal opinions with the desires and expectations
of the people is therefore not uncommon with emergence of many types of disagreements
and disputes.
c) Delicate: Medico legal work is very delicate because if an innocent is involved
unnecessarily or a crime goes unnoticed due to faulty application of the medical
knowledge would mean different to different persons. It will irk all kinds of people
including police, judiciary and the departmental peers.
d) Public outcry: Political workers and social activists are often up in arms in the so called
cases of police torture, hospital or dowry related deaths especially when the medical
opinion is different and contrary to the populous opinion and the doctor’s failure to act in
their favor brought a charge that the doctor for his ulterior motives had worked in
collision.
e) Administrative hypocrisy and juggleries: The legal presumption is that the hospital and
the district administrators of health department who are senior to those doing medico
legal work by virtue of their age in the department are superior for all practical purposes.
This sense of superiority seems to be on the basis of seniority of service and not the
specialization and the experience in a particular line. Problems may arise when they
either respond inadequately or do not respond in a manner, as they should while giving
opinions.
Second Autopsy
Postmortem re-examination or second autopsy of a dead body at times may be required under
certain circumstances before cremation or after exhumation. The interpretation of the findings
of a second autopsy, performed on a previously autopsied body, is not an easy task for the
autopsy surgeon due to various artifacts and alterations resulting from the first autopsy and it
is usually demanded or ordered under public cry or political overtones.
Referred Cases
Such cases which are referred from Primary Health Centers to the Civil Hospitals and further
to the referral institutions like Medical Colleges should be handled with care.
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Decomposed Dead Bodies
Decomposed and mutilated bodies are often referred to the forensic pathologists for
examination. One of the important tools to determine time since death in these cases is the
examination of the entomological evidence or insect infestation on human corpse / remains
which can be used to closely determine the time since death [10]. The potential for
contributions of entomology to legal investigations has been known for at least 700 years, but
only within the last decade or so has entomology been defined as a discrete field of forensic
science. Insect evidence collected from and around the body of a victim of untimely death
when properly collected, preserved and analyzed by an experienced and appropriately trained
forensic entomologist, can provide an accurate estimation of the victim’s death and 116
JIAFM, 2004; 26(3). ISSN 0971-0973 other valuable information. Examination of bones in
such cases many a times reveals important facts about the cases.
Constitution of the Board or Panel of Doctors
Constitution of the board is the most important determinant of its functions. It is important
who constitutes the board, how many and who all are the members of the board. Varying
from case to case and circumstances, the board may be constituted by the SMO of the PHC,
Civil Surgeon, head of department of Forensic Medicine, Principal of Medical College, and
Medical Superintendent of a hospital. Senior police officials can request for the constitution
of the board. Deputy Commissioner and Magistrates can order for the constitution of the
board for conducting the postmortem examination.
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Case laws
1-Khizar Hayat versus the State and 2 others Crl
Revision No. 209 of 2011, decided on 17th March, 2011. (1) Section 7 of the Juvenile Justice
System Ordinance, 2000 requires a Court to hold inquiry that includes a medical report to
ascertain the age of the accused if any question arises regarding the same. AGE OF
ACCUSED—(Medical report) Criminal Procedure Code (V of 1898)— —S. 439—Juvenile
Justice System Ordinance, 2000, S. 7— Criminal trial—Question of determination of age of
accused- -Specific procedure—A Court is required to hold inquiry that includes a medical
report to ascertain age of accused if any question arises regarding the same—Held: Impugned
order as based upon personal .assessment of the Presiding officer of the Court and that too
just on basis of physical appearance of petitioner regarding his age—Impugned order as set
aside/Case remanded. (Para 5) Ref.PLD 2004 SC 758.
2-Nallapati Sivaiah vs Sub-Divisional Officer, Guntur, on 26 September,
2007
In which the deceased implicated the appellant and four others. That another dying
declaration was recorded by the 6th Additional Magistrate, Guntur (P.W.7) which
commenced at 6.35 p.m. on 05.01.1998. The victim succumbed to the injuries and died at
about 9.30 p.m. on the same day in the hospital. P.W.10 Professor and Doctor of Forensic
Medicine conducted the post-mortem on examination on 06.01.1998. Ex.P-18 is the post-
mortem Report issued by him. He found as many as 63 injuries on the body of the deceased.
He expressed his opinion that the cause of death was due to multiple injuries. P.W.11
continued the investigation and filed charge-sheet against the appellant and two others. Be it
noted that there is no evidence by any of the doctor as to when the deceased succumbed to the
injuries except that he was found dead at 9.30 p.m., that is to say, within two hours from the
time of recording of Ex.P-8 Dying Declaration.
3-Govindaraju aka Govinda vs State by Sriramapuram P.S. & Anr on 15
March, 2012
The first and foremost point that invites the attention of this Court is that according to the
PW-1, he was nearly 30 yards away from the place where the victim fell on the ground and
he saw the accused persons chasing the victim from about a distance of 75 feet. As per his
statement in cross-examination, he was on a motor cycle. It is not understandable why he
could not increase the speed of his motor cycle so as to cover the distance of 30 yards before
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the injuries were inflicted on the deceased by the accused. Surely, seeing the police at such a
short distance, the accused, if they were involved in the crime, would not have the courage of
stabbing the victim (deceased) in front of a police officer who was carrying a gun. In the FIR
(Ex. P-2) he had not mentioned the names of the accused. He did not even mention to PW-11
as to who the assailants were. On the contrary, in the post-mortem report, Ex. P-9, it has
been recorded that as per police requisition in Forms 14(i) and (ii) the victim was said to have
been assaulted with knife by some miscreants on 7th December, 1998 and he was pronounced
dead on arrival to the hospital.
4-State of Himachal Pradesh vs Jeet Singh on 15 March, 1999
Jeet Singh went home in April 1987 for his annual leave. He and his wife Sudarshana Devi
left together in his family house at Lahar village (Himirpur District), Himachal Pradesh. On
the fateful night the couple went to bed in the "Overy" (Which is said to be a bedroom of the
house but on the next morning Sudarshana Devi was found dead. The shocking news was
conveyed to her father who rushed to the house and saw the dead body of his daughter. As he
entertained doubts about some foul play he decided to report the matter to the police. He did
it telephonically and the police arrived at the scene promptly. They held the inquest on the
dead body and sent it for post-mortem examination. Three doctors of the local district
hospital conducted a joint post-mortem examination and it was then revealed that death of
Sudarahsan Devi by smothering. Shri Anil Soni, learned counsel for the State of Himachal
Pradesh, while criticizing the aforesaid conclusion of the High Court submitted that learned
judges have grossly erred in holding that it is a case of suicide. The counsel made a forceful
plea that on the medical evidence on court could possibly reach a conclusion that it was not a
case of homicide. Medical evidence in this case has a great significance. Prosecution
examined three doctors who conducted the joint post-mortem examination. Ext.PB In
the Post-Mortem Report signed by all the three doctors who conducted the joint post-
mortem examination. Ext.PB is the Post-Mortem Report signed by all the three doctors.
Among them PW.5 - Ft. P.C.Gupta seems to be the senior most and he gave details of the
autopsy in his evidence. The defense also examined a doctor (Dr. C. Madhav Rao - Prof. and
Head of the Department of Forensic Medicines, I.G.Medical College, Shimla) to speak to an
opinion on the data contained in Ext.PB Post-Mortem Report. The general features of the
dead body as noted by the doctors, have been described in the Post-Mortem Report as "well
plated hair with Sindoor in the middle parting bindi well placed over forehead (maroon
colored with white crescent and white dot in it) red colored lip-stick well applied over both
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lips." Then the various ornaments worn by Subarashana Devi were described. The following
are the marks noted by the doctors for reaching the unmistakable conclusion that Sudarashana
Devi was subjected to forcible smothering. Dr. C Madhav Rao, who was examined as a
defense witness, after looking into Ext.PB - Post-Mortem Report and Ext. PZ - Chemical
Examiner's Report, has expressed his opinion as follows: Dr. C Madhav Rao, who was
examined as a defense witness, after looking into Ext.PB - Post-Mortem Report and Ext. PZ
- Chemical Examiner's Report, has expressed his opinion as follows: "In the present case after
going through the Chemical Examiner's report, I am of the opinion that poison is responsible
for death rather than smothering. It is true that the Chemical Examiner's report has not
mentioned about the strength of poison, but as these substances are not normally in the post-
mortem report are consistent with poisoning by these substances, in my opinion it will be
correct to assume death by poison."
5-Stephen Seneviratne vs the King on 29 July, 1936
Comment was made by the Crown upon the suspicious conduct of the appellant in that
though there must have been some smell of chloroform; if he entered the room immediately
after the cry, and although it would; appear that his wife had died very soon afterwards, the
appellant at no time mentioned the smell of chloroform to Dr. S.C. Paul on his arrival. Dr.
Paul's son, Dr. Milroy Paul, in the afternoon injected formalin into-the body by way of
embalming or preserving it, and on the 16th the funeral took place. On the evening, however,
of the 15th, while Dr. Milroy Paul. was talking to his father, the question of the marks on the
face of the deceased, was discussed by them. Dr. Milroy Paul stated his opinion that the
marks must be due to chloroform. The deceased's brother, Mr. de Alwis, not being; satisfied
that his sister had died from natural causes and apparently at first adopting- the view that she
had been driven to suicide took steps after a-day or two to instigate the authorities to action,
with the result that the body was exhumed and a post-mortem was held upon it on November
7. The salient features of the post-mortem findings were much discussed in the-medical
evidence. It may be taken to be common ground that aspirin was not found in the body, that
the face marks were most probably attributable to chloroform and that except on the face
there were no marks whatever on the body of any significance. A slight bruising on the
insides of the arms might have been caused in the course of the movements made to attempt
artificial respiration. The expert evidence was taken as conclusively establishing that the
death was not due to aspirin. Further it is reasonably clear that the direct cause of death might
be the same if due to the administration of chloroform vapour either by the deceased or by
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another person, and the contest of conflicting opinions as to whether the signs observable on
the post mortem examination pointed to asphyxia or to cardiac syncope or to asphyxia with
secondary syncope was not of first importance. It was apparently supposed that asphyxia
would take longer to produce, and be more likely to require an agent external to the deceased
to bring it about; but the supposition itself was not at all clearly established. It must also be
remembered that none of the doctors had any experience of the changes which might take
place in a formalin injected body buried underground for twenty-four days in the climate of
Ceylon.
6-Mullah & another vs State of U.P on 8 February, 2010
On the fateful night of 21.12.1995 when Shiv Ratan, Nanhakey, Ram Kishore and Sushil
were irrigating their fields in the northern side of the village from the tubewell of Sundari,
widow of Jai Narain, at about 8.30 p.m., eight miscreants armed with guns reached the spot.
A boy and two girls were also with them. All the miscreants caught hold of the four persons
who were irrigating their fields and enquired about their properties and made a demand of
Rs.10, 000/- each and threatened that otherwise they would be killed. At the very moment,
Harnam, Ganga Dai, Chhotakey s/o Gaya Ram and Hari Kumar Tripathi who were returning
home after irrigating their fields were also stopped by the miscreants demanding Rs.10,000/-
each from them. When all of them expressed their inability to pay the money, the miscreants
assaulted Sushil, Shiv Ratan and Harnam by butt of the gun and took away Hari Kumar
Tripathi, Nanhakey, Ram Kishore aka Chottakey Naney, Chhotakkey and Ganga Dai towards
western side of tubewell leaving Sushil, Shiv Ratan and Harnam directing them to bring
money otherwise they would be killed. These three persons returned to the village and
informed the villagers about the incident and by the time the villagers reached near the field,
the miscreants had taken away all the five abducted persons along with them. Due to the
night and being afraid of the miscreants, the villagers could not lodge a complaint
immediately. On the very next day i.e. 22.12.1995 at 6.10 a.m., a complaint was lodged at
P.S. Sandana, Dist. Sitapur and a case was registered and the investigation was commenced
for searching the abducted persons. At about 25 mts. away from the tubewell in the sugar
cane field of Laltu, the dead body of Hari Kumar Tripathi was recovered and the dead bodies
of Nanhakey, Ram Kishore aka Chottakey Naney, Chhotakkey and Ganga Dai were found in
the Arhar field at a distance of 1 km. from the tubewel. After the dead bodies, they were sent
for post-mortem. After recording the statements, S.H.O. Ram Shankar Singh arrested Mullah
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and Guddu on 01.01.1996 and Tula on 08.01.1996 and recovered a countrymade gun, two
cartridges and one knife.
7-Sarvesh Narain Shukla vs Daroga Singh & Ors on 12 October, 2007
This judgment will dispose of Criminal Appeal Nos. 752-755 of 2005 pertaining to the
acquittal of four of the accused whereas Criminal Appeal Nos. 834 of 2005, 835 of 2005 and
910-912 of 2005 have been filed by the accused who stand convicted both by the trial Court
as well as by the High Court. On 4.4.1999 Rakesh Kumar Pandey along with his brother-in-
law Surya Narain aka Vakil Shukla along with three others, Devi Shankar Dubey, Prem
Shankar Dubey and the car driver Shesh Mani were returning from Aurai to Gopiganj in the
latters car No. WB 26A 7554. As the car reached near the Trimuhani on the middle of the
road in Gopiganj, accused Udai Bhan Singh, Akbal Bahadur aka Atkoti Singh, Prem Singh,
Dhunni Singh, Munni Singh, Daroga Singh, Rajeshwar Upadhyay, Pintoo Singh and two
other persons all armed with modern weapons starting firing at the car. The firing led to the
death of Surya Narain @ Vakil Shukla, Devi Shankar Dubey and Shesh Mani at the spot.
Rakesh Kumar Pandey and Prem Shankar who were sitting on the rear seat rushed out of the
car to save themselves and they too received some superficial injuries in that process. The
assailants also picked up the licensed rifle of Prem Shankar Dubey which was lying in the car
and thereafter ran away from the spot. The occurrence was also witnessed by Shiv Prasad @
Dangar Tewari, Mukand Lal, Ram Dutt Mishra and several other persons. A FIR was
thereafter lodged by Rakesh Kumar Pandey at 3.45 p.m. in Police Station Gopiganj a
kilometer away from the place of incident, on which S.I. Vidya Prakash Misra reached the
place of occurrence and recorded the statement of Rakesh Kumar Pandey whereas SI Rashid
Ahmad prepared the inquest reports of the deceased on the dictation of SI Vidya Prakash
Misra. On an inspection of the site, several pieces of glass, a blood stained piece of rexine,
and shoes and some fired cartridges, a rifle and a 9 mm pistol licensed to deceased Surya
Narain Shukla were recovered. The bodies were also sent for the post mortem examinations.
The post mortem examination on the dead body of Devi Shankar Dubey was conducted by
Dr. Radhey Raman on 4.4.1999 at about 11.55 p.m. whereas Dr. Sanjay Tewari conducted
the post mortem examinations on the dead bodies of Shesh Mani at 11.30 p.m and that on
Surya Narain Shukla 45 minutes later i.e. at 0030 hours. All three dead bodies showed
extensive fire arms injuries. Dr. A.K. Pandey also medically examined Prem Shankar Dubey
at 5.25 p.m on 4.4.1999 and found two lacerated simple injuries on his person whereas the
examination of Rakesh Kumar Pandey at 8.15 p.m. on 4.4.1999 by Dr. L.S. Mishra showed
20
Five simple injuries; three abrasions and two contusions. The doctors opined that these
injuries could have been caused as the two were making a hurried exit from the car. On the
completion of the investigation the accused were charged for offences punishable under
Sections 147, 148, 302 read with 149 I.P.C whereas appellant Suresh Singh aka Jajjey Singh
was in addition charged under Section 379IPC for having taking away Prem Shankar Dubeys
rifle from the car whereas Tehsildar Singh and Suresh Singh were further charged
under Section 411 I.P.C. The accused pleaded not guilty and sought trial.
8-K.V. Chacko aka Kunju vs State Of Kerala on 7 December, 2000
The appellant has preferred these appeals against the judgment of the High Court of Kerala at
Ernakulam dated 28th March, 2000 delivered in Criminal Appeal Nos.105/98 and 642/98.
Criminal Appeal No.105/98 was filed by the appellant against the conviction and sentence
imposed on him by the learned Sessions Judge, Kottayam Division, Kerala in Sessions Case
No.60 of 1993 dated 29.12.1997 wherein he was found guilty of offences punishable
under Sections 449, 302, 397 and 201IPC and was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for
various terms including imprisonment for life under Section 302 IPC. Criminal Appeal
No.642/98 was preferred by the State of Kerala against the said judgment of the Sessions
Court for not awarding capital punishment to the accused in the said case. The High Court
heard both the appeals together and as per its impugned judgment dismissed the appeal of the
appellant and allowed the State appeal by coming to the conclusion that the offence
committed by the appellant deserved nothing short of capital punishment to meet the ends of
justice. Accordingly, it enhanced the sentence from life imprisonment to death sentence. The
appellant has preferred the above said appeals against the said judgment from jail. Mr. Kh.
Nobin Singh, learned Advocate, has appeared as an amicus curiae while the State is
represented by Mr. A.S. Nambiar, learned senior counsel and Mr. Gracious Kuriakose,
learned advocate. The prosecution case as presented before the trial court is that on 6.8.1988
at about 3.20 a.m. the appellant entered the house of Johnny, a resident of Thadiyampadu in
Idukki District by making an opening near the kitchen door of the house where deceased
Johnny was sleeping with his family members, namely, his wife Mariakutty, daughter Rani
aged 15 years, daughter Honey aged 9 years, and son Sony aged 7 years. It is stated that the
appellant immobilised the said victims by hitting them on their heads by using an axe (MO-
12) and removed the jewellery worn by the female victims, so also a revolver (MO- 13) and
cartridges (MO-14) belonging to Johnny along with currency notes worth Rs.60/- which were
inside the drawer of a table in the house and thereafter with a view to destroy the evidence of
21
the crime, poured diesel oil which was kept by Johnny in a can in his house, set fire to the
house and decamped with the booty so collected. It is the further case of the prosecution that
Beeran (PW-17), who happened to pass by the house of Johnny at about that time, came to
notice the flames of fire emanating from the said house, hence, ran to a nearby night shop
situated at Thadiyampadu junction and informed Ismail (PW-1) and some other head-load
workers who were with PW- 1 and brought them to the house of Johnny. It is further stated
that on breaking open the front door by these people, they noticed a young girl who was later
identified as Rani, lying and moaning but before any help could be rendered to her, the roof
of the house fell on her and their efforts to save her failed. It is further stated that when PW-7
Muralidharan S.I. of police arrived at the spot, the house was completely burnt and he with
the help of the people present including the fire force personnel, extricated the completely
charred bodies of the above said 5 victims from the burnt debris. PW-7 then recorded the
statement of PW-1 which is marked as Ex. P-1, the first information. Based on the said
information, Crime No.151/88 was registered at Idukki Police Station vide Ex. P-7. It is
stated that PW-13, Thulasidas conducted the further investigation and held inquest on the
dead bodies as per Ex. MO-11 as also the spot Mahazar. On his request a team of doctors led
by the District Medical Officer arrived at the scene and conducted the post mortem. The
report of the said post mortem signed by one Dr. Dias was marked as Ex. P-9 series. As per
the said report the doctor gave a provisional opinion that the cause of death was due to
burning and reserved his final opinion till after the receipt of the report of Chemical
Examiner to whom the viscera were sent for examination. The said PW-13 is stated to have
examined 116 witnesses and gave his report to the Superintendent of Police on 6.9.1988 to
the effect that the death of these victims was due to fire accident. Based on his report the case
was closed as deaths due to accident.
9-Radha vs State on 18 May, 2011
That on 6/8/07 the post mortem was conducted on the dead body of deceased Brijesh Singh
at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Delhi. The autopsy surgeon described "no external
injury mark seen on deadly body". Viscera of deceased was preserved by the autopsy surgeon
to rule out any common poisoning. Inquest proceeding u/s 174 Cr.pc was conducted by the
local police. The cause of death was kept pending till report of chemical analysis of the
viscera was received. During inquest proceeding, various persons were examined by local
police. On 28.8.07 the viscera of the deceased was sent to Forensic Science Laboratory,
Rohini, Delhi for chemical examination. The enquiry was marked to Inspector R.K. Meena,
22
Anti- Homicide Section of Crime Branch. During the course of enquiry Smt. Radha, sister of
deceased was examined on 22/1/08. In her statement she stated that on 4/8/07 her brother
Brijesh Singh had told her that he had an altercation with Vaibhav Gautam aka Michael over
a girl who was studying in a computer course in Rohini and Vaibhav Gautam wanted to make
friendship with that girl. She also stated that one year ago Manish Gandhi had an altercation
with Brijesh Singh, and Manish Gandhi had made a complaint to police against Brijesh
Singh. In the police station, the father of Manish Gandhi had threatened Brijesh Singh with
dire consequences. On 5.8.07 when her brother did not return home, her mother called her
daughter Ms. Radha and told her about the incident. She further stated that when her mother
reached PS Rohini, police officials advised them to look for Brijesh Singh for some more
time. They searched for their brother but due to rain they were not able to find Brijesh Singh.
On 6.8.07 at about 6.00 A.M. someone from the locality came to their house and informed
them that the body of Brijesh Singh was lying inside the water logged park near a tree pit.
Smt. Radha stated that she along with her mother saw the dead body of her brother in the
water logged park near a tree pit in front of their home. Police removed the dead body to
Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Delhi. Post mortem was conducted at the hospital and
after post mortem the dead body of Brijesh Singh was handed over to them and they
cremated the dead body.
10-State vs Ramesh Chand Verma, Ajay Kumar And on 29 August, 2006
So, now we proceed to consider the prosecution evidence. There is no direct evidence of the
triple murder and prosecution case rests on circumstantial evidence only. The learned trial
Court had observed in para No. 51 of the judgment of conviction as under:
In order to prove the case against the accused persons the basic facts to be established are that
the death of Pushp Raj, Narinder and Namita was caused and they died unnatural death of as
alleged. Secondly there was conspiracy of the Accused regarding causing death of Pushp Raj.
Thirdly there was role of the Accused persons in causing death of the victims. Fourthly there
had been motive to the Accused persons for causing death. The PW-5 Dr. O.P.Murthy
conducted the post mortem on the dead body of Narinder vide post mortem report Ex. PW-
5/A and PW-32 Dr. Sunil proved the post mortem report of Namita wife of Vishwajit Haldar
vide Ex. PW-32/A and PW-33 Dr. Parshant Kulshresht conducted the post mortem on the
dead body of Pushp Raj Kapoor Singh vide his post mortem report Ex. PW-33/A. the death of
all the three victims is proved by these doctors. This fact is further confirmed by the public
witnesses PW-6 Avdesh Kumar, PW-2 Arvind Partap Singh, PW-8 Ram Ikbal Singh, PW-15
23
Ved Parkash and others who identified their dead bodies. All the three doctors proved
the post mortem report and also proved the injuries shown in the post mortem report. There is
similarity in the injuries of all the three deceased with respect to their period since death, the
nature of injuries caused, the nature of weapon used and the manner the death was caused
except as per post mortem report Ex. PW-33/A the dead body of Pushp Raj Kapoor Singh
was also burnt after causing death as it has burn injuries, post mortem in nature. The cause of
death in all the three cases is head injury. The injuries are on temporal region and the scalp
got fractured and the bone pieces have pierced into the brain matter and brain matter was also
coming out in case of Narinder. Therefore, these similarities indicate that their murder had
been caused by the same person or persons with the same weapon and around the same time.
As far as the fact that the three deceased persons died an unnatural death is concerned there is
no dispute raised on that aspect on behalf of the convicted accused before us. That fact in any
case stands duly established from the circumstances in which their dead bodies were found
lying here and there and also from the post-mortem reports of the autopsy surgeons.
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