The Forensic Medical Experts have to undergo a lot of problems while conducting post-mortems as they are sometimes required to conduct post-mortem on a highly decomposed, mutilated, disfigured and defaced bodies.

The Forensic Medical Experts have to conduct post-mortem on dead bodies which are swarming with maggots and harmful bacteria and they are performing postmortems in such a dire and repulsive situation.

The very act done during post-mortem is noted down and measurements and other details are scrupulously entered. The duration of post-mortem varies from 1 to 3 hours depending upon each case. The cause of death is especially mentioned in all the post-mortem certificates and Forensic Medical Experts can give only information regarding cause of death and they are not competent persons to give any information regarding the manner of death. [Para 9]

Lab Technicians are recruited by the Medical Recruitment Board and they are utilised in the Forensic Department after giving necessary training in forensic aspects. [Para 9]

It was alleged that post-mortems are actually carried out by Attendants /Sweepers/ Scavengers is not correct.

It is pertinent to note that it is, in fact, a collective work and the Forensic Doctor is the leader of the team consisting of well-experienced and abled 4 to 6 persons like technicians, mortuary attendants and sanitary workers in the practical aspects of post-mortem. Their assistance can, by no means, be underestimated.

On the issue of role of Scientific Officer, it was claimed that there is no necessity for the presence of Scientific Officer as alleged by the petitioner. The duty of Scientific Officer is only to assist the Forensic Medical Officer and they do not have any independent or exclusive role to play in the post-mortems. The Scientific Officers never studied any Science and they are having M.A. (Criminology) Degree only.

They do not have any knowledge of anatomy, physiology, bio-chemistry, microbiology, pathology, Medicine, surgical procedures, etc. They do not have expertise, skill or knowledge to make any opinion or decision regarding cause of death and other intricacies of a post-mortem. They are only peripheral and they do not have any say in conducting post-mortems. [Para 10]

Madras High Court emphasised that moreover, unauthorised persons are doing dissections and even during the dissections, the Doctors are not going near the bodies and dictating the injuries to their assistants and noting of the injuries and findings are also not as per the format. The preparation of post-mortem certificate is not in the format as directed by NHRC. There is failure on the part of the Doctors, Forensic Experts to send the post-mortem certificates immediately after the autopsy to the Judicial Magistrate and handing over the copy to the Head of the Department.

All these are reasons to suspect malpractices and meddling with the findings of autopsies at the instance of third parties for unknown reasons.

The above would categorically prove that autopsies are not done as per the regulations and NHRC model. [Para 46]

“According to the petitioner, autopsies are conducted in a mechanical manner by the concerned officers of the Forensic Medicine. To make the position clear, the petitioner has produced a string of post-mortem certificates in respect of different people. The post-mortem certificate contains very same identification marks in respect of different people. There are other similarities also with respect to the certificates. The petitioner, is therefore, prima facie, correct in his contention that autopsies were done in a very mechanical manner without even taking note of the actual identification of the concerned persons. We are, therefore, of the view that the issue requires consideration.”

The Honourable Supreme Court gave a number of guidelines in the matter of investigating Police encounters, custodial deaths, as a standard procedure for effective independent investigation.

This Public Interest Litigation has been filed by a practising Advocate before the Madras High Court seeking issue of directions with regard to conducting of autopsies. [Para 1]

The petitioner states that there is a huge shortfall of qualified Forensic Medical Experts. They are available only in Medical Colleges and not available in any of the Government Hospitals resulting in conducting of post-mortems without following the procedure as contemplated in Tamil Nadu Medical Code. [Para 2]

The petitioner, in crux, would submit that autopsies are not done as per the procedure and there are several irregularities committed during autopsies, apart from lack of transparency. Therefore, he has approached the Madras High Court. [Para 6]