Page 1 of 13
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 1473
Relevance of Forensic Science in Law and Its Importance in
Criminal Investigation System
Vikram Singh
Research Scholar, Faculty of Law,
Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak
INTRODUCTION
The word forensic comes from the Latin term forensis, meaning “of or before the forum.”1 The
history of the term originates from Roman times, during which 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. In modern use, the term forensics in the place of forensic science
can be considered correct, as the term forensic is effectively a synonym for legal or related to
courts. However, the term is now so closely associated with the scientific field that many
dictionaries include the meaning that equates the word forensics with forensic science.
Criminal justice forms part of the set of processes, bodies and institutions that aim to secure or
restore social control. 2 The latter may be defined as the organized ways in which society
responds to behavior and people it regards as deviant, problematic, worrying, threatening,
troublesome and undesirable. 3 Administration of criminal justice .primarily rests on police,
prosecution, courts and prisons. These four organs are engaged in the vital task of prevention,
detection, prosecution, adjudication and penalization of offenders in society. Effective criminal
justice machinery ensures a safe and peaceful society. In fact, the entire existence of an orderly
1
Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (6th Ed.) Oxford University Press, 2007 ISBN 978-0-19-920687
2
FRANCIS PAKES (ED), COMPARATIVE CRIMINAL JUSTICE pg. No.1 (Routledge, Oxon, Third Edition/2015).
3 DAVID SHICHOR, THE MEANING AND NATURE OF PUNISHMENT, (Waveland Press, Inc. 2006).
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European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 1474
society depends upon sound and effective criminal justice system.4 Amongst the functionaries of
the criminal justice, the pivotal role is that of the magistrates and courts. They are responsible for
deciding the guilt or otherwise of the alleged offenders and determining the sentence. This
process of deciding the culpability of offenders by courts is a complex one involving
appreciation of facts and evidence and establishing the charge sought to be proved. In the task,
they are assisted by a specialized investigative body, the police. The latter are entrusted with the
significant task of detecting and investigating crimes for the purpose of apprehending the alleged
offenders and bringing them to justice. Any investigation speaks only with evidence. Truth
stands proud in a Court of Law only on the solid and sound foundation of evidence".5
In the last few decades, the infusion of technology in crime investigation has been a major
breakthrough in the process of advancement of criminal justice. Police utilize scientific tools and
techniques to detect a crime, reconstruct the crime scene, identify the alleged offender and
establish vital links; the courts, on the other, take account of these physical evidences, otherwise
infallible, and determine with enhanced accuracy the innocence or guilt of the offender.
Somewhere, the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice functioning has come to be
intertwined with the extent of use of technological tools in crime investigation.
Forensic science can be explained as a study and application of science to matters of law. This
connection of science and law provides new ways and methods for discovering the reality. The
word "forensic" is derived from the Latin word "forensis" which means forum, a public place
where, in Roman times, senators and others debated and held judicial proceedings. Forensic
science is an integrative subject combining several branches of learning used for inquiring crime
scenes and collecting evidences to be used in the trial for prosecution of offenders in a court of
law. The techniques of forensic science are used to scrutinize acquiescence with international
agreements regarding weapons of mass destruction. Earlier, the main areas used in forensic
4 Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System, Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Volume I,
2003.
5 U. S.Misra, CBI-The Role & Challenges 13 NPAJ Vol. 57(1 (2005).
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European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 1475
science were biology, chemistry, and medicine. However, with time forensic science included
various branches like toxicology, cyber forensic, hand-writing, fingerprinting, ballistics, forensic
psychology, anthropology, geology, forensic engineering, and deontology. Forensic scientists
examine objects, substances (including blood or drug samples), chemicals (paints, explosives,
toxins), tissue traces (hair, skin), or impressions (fingerprints or tidemarks) left at the crime
scene.
Forensic expert provides an important source of information for criminal proceedings (whether
international or domestic). They expertise from mass graves is no exception: findings from
exhumations and examinations have featured in the ad hoc tribunals' trials and judgments. The
fact is that only a very few professionals are equipped with the knowledge necessary to fully
apply the potential of science in civil, criminal, and family legal matters.
HISTORY
The ancient world lacked standardized forensic practices, which aided criminals in escaping
punishment. Criminal investigations and trials heavily relied on forced confessions and witness
testimony. However, ancient sources do contain several accounts of techniques that foreshadow
concepts in forensic science that were developed centuries later.6 The first written account of
using medicine and entomology to solve criminal cases is attributed to the book of Xi Yuan Lu
(translated as Washing Away of Wrongs7
,
8
, written in China by Song Ci (1186-1249) in 1248,
who was a director of justice, jail and supervision,
9 during the Song Dynasty.
6
Schafer, Elizabeth D. (2008). "Ancient Science and forensics:. In Ayn Embar - Seddon, Allan D. Pass (Eds.) Forensic
Science. Salem Press 40. 105BN978-1-1-58765-423-7
7
"Forensic Timeline" Cbsnews.com Retrieved 2011-12-20.
8
"A Brief Background of Forensic Science" Archived 2009-12-16 at the wayback Machine
9
Song, Ci, and Brian E. Mcknight. The washing away wrongs. Forensic Medicine in the thirteenth century China.
Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, U of Michigan 1981. Print p. 3.
