Forensic probe all set to boost conviction rate in serious crime cases

With BNS making such investigation mandatory in serious crime cases that attract seven years' imprisonment or above, more and more criminals are likely to be brought to justice in the next five years

India’s abysmal conviction rate for crime, especially serious crimes (offences that attract seven years’ imprisonment or above), could see improvement soon, maybe within the next five years. The reason? The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in July, 2024, now makes forensic investigation of the crime scene mandatory in cases of serious crime. This requirement will likely put more pressure on Indian police, for no case that has a seven-year prison term can go to court now without a forensic report; but it will also dramatically alter the way police currently investigate cases. Slipshod investigation with little in-house investigative expertise and reliance only on oral or circumstantial evidence in crimes like rape, murder, financial and cyber-crime, has been one reason for low conviction rates. This is about to change, though many are sceptical about the Indian policing system’s capacity to handle the challenge.

 

Dr Keshav Kumar, who recently retired from the Indian Police Service (Gujarat cadre) after an extended stint in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), where he helmed the creation of a forensics arm, says the facts speak for themselves. “The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says the average national conviction rate for serious crime is 37 per cent. In most schools and colleges, the marks you need to pass is 40 per cent. So, currently we’re not even making the pass mark level,” Kumar says.

 

Yashovardhan Azad, former special director, Intelligence Bureau (IB), and secretary security, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), says the BNS’s new ask from the police will push the local “thana” against the ropes, given dilapidated infrastructure.

 

“As a policeman, I know the state of our police stations — their current capacity to carry out forensic investigation is zero. The biggest problem is: access of forensic science units to the scene of crime, especially in remote areas. A rape has taken place in UP’s “dehat” (village) area. Given the current resources of the police, including the shortage of lady officers, how will the forensic team reach in time (three days) to get swabs and other evidence from the crime scene? And then, if blood samples are recovered, where will they be stored? Do police stations even have fridges? How many days will it take for the forensic labs to give their report? I was a big votary of forensic investigations when I was a Superintendent of Police (SP). But at that time, the forensics labs felt they were doing you a great favour by analysing the samples. And even then, the report could take anywhere between one and four months,” says Azad.

 

Related to this is another, more crucial question. “Who will pay for the creation of mobile forensics teams and ensure they work efficiently? The state governments? All I can say is, ‘Good luck with that’. How do we lay down the infrastructure for this project,” he adds.

 

The challenge is not just infrastructure, it is manpower. “In most developed countries, the ratio of forensic scientists and experts per 100,000 population is 2,250. In India, it is 0.33 per one lakh population,” Kumar says.

 

But some state governments are seeing the BNS challenge as an opportunity. The world’s first forensic university was set up in Gujarat in 2008. The plan is to establish branches of this (national) university in all state capitals and even open campuses abroad. The former dean of the university, Air Commodore (Retd) K Thaakar, spoke to Business Standard from Uganda, where he is currently located, tasked with the mission of creating a facility that will train Ugandan Army and police officers in forensic sciences and cybercrime. “Within India, the fastest off the blocks is the government of Assam. But we have requests to set up forensic training institutions from many African countries,” he said.

 

Kumar, who has several hundred convictions to his credit, achieved entirely by applying forensics principles, says apart from a new career stream in policing, the changes in the BNS will force police forces to become more efficient and modern. He says state governments are slowly realising the value of forensic training and Assam is a prime example. “The Chief Minister wanted our help. We offered to set up a training facility. It took just under 14 hours for the state government to sanction a 50-acre plot. Construction has already begun. Meanwhile, we’re already running training modules from an existing building in Guwahati. In two or three years, Guwahati will, we hope, become the hub for forensic training for the entire Northeast,” he says, adding that the expertise can even be offered to Southeast Asian countries like Thailand.

 

The idea is not to “import” forensic investigation talent from other states but to create a team of “home-grown” scientists and investigators, who can speak the local language and understand local traditions, Kumar says. He recalls his own investigation of the Jnaneswari Express case, which caused the death of 148 passengers when the train they were travelling on crashed with a goods train laden with steel. “I saw, in the photographs of the accident site, a poster that said in Bangla: ‘We’re going to do something the world will talk about’. The accident took place near West Bengal’s Jhargram, which has a population of 1,500. We rounded up those who could read and write. And based on graphological evidence, we got convictions. It was earlier ruled as an accident because of the failure of signalling systems. But we proved that it was sabotage by extreme Left Wing groups. And the evidence was entirely forensic,” he says.

 

The BNS has been criticised on several grounds. But for Kumar and Thaakar, it represents a glass half full. They see it as the route to punish crime but more important, to ensure justice.

 

Forensic DNA evidence

 

In India, forensic DNA evidence was first recognised in the criminal justice system by the Kerala High Court in 1991 in the Kunhiraman v. Manoj case. The case was first adjudicated by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in Thalassery, Kerala, in 1985. The CJM judgement was appealed in the HC in 1991 and the court upheld the admissibility of DNA evidence under Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act, which permitted expert opinions in legal matters. This ruling established that DNA evidence, like the opinions of chemical analysts or fingerprint experts, could decisively determine paternity.

 

Interestingly, DNA profiling has even been utilised in anti-corruption cases. For instance, a bribe taker who swallowed tainted currency notes was forensically implicated when DNA profiling of saliva on the recovered notes confirmed his guilt. 

DNA evidence in key cases

 

> Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case (1991): DNA fingerprinting was used to identify both the victims and the attacker

> Naina Sahni Murder Case (1995): DNA evidence confirmed that the burnt remains were those of Naina Sahni, leading to the conviction of Sushil Sharma

> Beant Singh Assassination Case (1995): DNA fingerprinting revealed that one of the victims was Babbar Khalsa operative Dilawar Singh, confirming suspicions of a human bomb attack

> Priyadarshini Mattoo Case (1995): DNA evidence played a key role in the conviction of Santosh Kumar Singh. The Delhi High Court sentenced him to death in 2006 based on DNA evidence found on the victim’s undergarments

> Shiney Ahuja Rape Case (2009): The actor was convicted after DNA samples from the victim matched his

> Nirbhaya Gangrape Case (2012): DNA evidence, along with the victim’s dying declaration, led to the death sentences of all accused.

> Hyderabad Blasts Case (2013): DNA samples from a house linked to the accused helped the National Investigation Agency (NIA) secure convictions

> Mumbai Shakti Mill Gang Rape Case (2018): DNA evidence was crucial in identifying the victim through personal belongings, leading to the conviction of the accused