The Supreme Court has directed that in all cases of death due to suspected poisoning, the investigating agencies must send the viscera samples of the deceased to forensic laboratory for examination.
Expressing "extreme displeasure" over lapses by police in not sending viscera for forensic examination to verify death due to poisoning, a bench headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai said that trial court must ensure that the viscera is sent to the FSL and its report brought on record. In case of failure to place the report before it, the court should summon the concerned officer for an explanation.
"We direct that in cases where poisoning is suspected, immediately after the post-mortem, the viscera should be sent to the FSL. The prosecuting agencies should ensure that the viscera is, in fact, sent to the FSL for examination and the FSL should ensure that the viscera is examined immediately and report is sent to the investigating agencies/courts," the bench, also comprising justice J Chelameswar, said.
It said that these scientific tests are of vital importance to a criminal case, particularly when the witnesses are increasingly showing a tendency to turn hostile.
"If the viscera report is not received, the concerned court must ask for explanation and must summon the concerned officer of the FSL to give an explanation as to why the viscera report is not forwarded to the investigating agency/court. The criminal court must ensure that it is brought on record," it said.
The court passed the direction noting that in several cases of suspected poisoning, which has come before it, the prosecuting agencies are not taking steps to obtain viscera report, making the prosecution case weak.
"We must note that this is the third case which this court has noticed in a short span of two months where, in a case of suspected poisoning, viscera report is not brought on record. We express our extreme displeasure about the way in which such serious cases are dealt with. We wonder whether these lapses are the result of inadvertence or they are a calculated move to frustrate the prosecution.
"Though the FSL report is not mandatory in all cases, in cases where poisoning is suspected, it would be advisable and in the interest of justice to ensure that the viscera is sent to the FSL and the FSL report is obtained," the bench said.
The court passed the order while dismissing an appeal filed by a convict who was sentenced to life term imprisonment in a murder case along with five other accused.
