For any offence to be proved or disproved there has to be substantiating pieces of evidence supporting or rejecting the offence charged and as we know not all evidences provided in the code are treated equal.
One such piece
of evidence is the medical examination and the Medico Legal case Report (MLC)
generated after such medical examination. This is a cohesive and coherent piece
of evidence for all parties to help them prove or disprove an offence.
Evidentiary value of the MLC is very high and we often see the courts basing
their judgements on the findings of such medical examinations.
since it such an
important procedure, the whole process as to performing a medical examination
on an Accused or a victim is provided inside the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha
Sanhita (BNSS) itself. Today we would be mainly focussing on Section 51, 52, 53
and 184 of BNSS which would explain the procedure of conducting a medical
examination of an accused or a victim of a crime.
Medical Examination of Accused of a Crime: Section 51, 53 BNSS
· Once an accused is arrested by the police on a
charge, in custody of the police, any officer in charged, after he has examined
the facts and circumstances of that particular case and now based on such
finding has a reson to believe that medical examination of the accused in such
a matter can bring out a substantive piece of evidence, he is legally
authorised to get the medical examination of the accused.
· The police officer shall request a registered
medical practitioner preferably in service of state or Central government, i.e.
doctors of a government hospital, for such medical examination of the accused.
Any registered medical practitioner who is so requested by the police has the
authority to conduct the medical examination on the accused. Any person who is
helping such a medical practitioner in good faith is also allowed to use all
means necessary to conduct such examination.
· Use of force by the medical practitioner and his
staff assisting in such examination is also permitted to reasonable limits.
· When such accused is a female, only a female
medical practitioner is allowed to conduct such medical examination or it needs
to be in supervision of a female registered practitioner.
· The medical practitioner shall thereupon conduct
examination in which the following can be included: blood, blood stains, semen,
swabs in case of sexual offences, sputum and sweat, hair samples and finger
nail clippings by use of modern and scientific techniques like DNA profiling
and other tests as the medical practitioner may feel necessary.
· Medical professional shall also prepare a report
in which things like injury or marks of violence on the body of the
arrested/accused person, approximate time indicating when such injuries may
have been inflicted are mentioned.
· Copy of such a medical examination must be
supplied to accused/ arrested person or any other person so nominated by him.
· Medical practitioners may use body charts and
other resources to eliminate any ambiguity related to the description of
injury.
Medical Examination in Cases of Rape: Section 52, 184 BNSS
As we all know
that in an offence of rape, medical examination is one of the keys to deciding
the fate of the trial and hence the lawmakers have focused in on such offences
separately so as to avoid any injustice. For offences of rape, the procedure
for medical examination of both the accused and the victim of the crime is
provided in the Sanhita and efforts have been made to eliminate any possible
discrepancy in such examination. Section 52 talks about examination of accused
of Rape crime whereas section 184 talks about examination of the victim of rape
crime. Let us dive deep into the procedure of examination provided under these
provisions:
· Examination of a person accused of rape or the
victim of rape is to be performed only by registered medical professionals of
either a government hospital (“hospital run by government” as mentioned in sec
52) or local authorities the area.
· In absence of any government hospital or a
hospital run by local authorities within a radius of 16 Km from the place of
the commission of offence, any other registered medical practitioner available
can also conduct such examination.
· Medical professional shall conduct the
examination and prepare a report of such examination with particulars including
information such as
1.
Name and address of accused or Victim,
2.
Details of the person or Police personnel by
whom brought to the examination,
3.
Age of the accused or victim
4.
Details of the marks and injury on body of the
person
5.
Descriptions of samples collected or swabs taken
for the purpose of examination or other tests like DNA profiling etc.
6.
Reasons for each and every conclusion reached by
the medical practitioner in his report. This shall include the medical
treatment and diagnostic details on basis of which the finding should become a
fact. For example, if a medical practitioner finds in his report that a wound
on the victim is fresh and must have been inflicted 2-3 hours prior to the
examination, then he must state the reasons and medical proofs and analogies on
basis of which he was able to ascertain this. This is mainly done so as to
avoid vague or biased findings in the report.
7.
Must include exact timings of commencement and
completion of the examination.
· After this the medical practitioner is expected
to compile this report and forward it to the investigating officer (IO) without
any delay, who shall then in turn file it before the concerned magistrate in
the court.
Conclusion
Certainly, as an
advocate, understanding the provisions related to medical examinations is
crucial, especially considering the changes introduced by the BNSS compared to
the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The main difference between the provisions
of BNSS and CrPC relating to medical examination of accused and victim of a
crime, if had to be summarised would be that BNSS has generalised the authority
which was given to specific ranks of police in CrPC. Also, use of reasonable
force by the medical practitioner is a welcome change. Now in BNSS, it is not
upon the accused to decide if he needs to be examined or not, rather this
decision is to be taken by the concerned police official. The BNSS ensures that victims of a crime
shall receive timely and professional medical attention while also preserving
crucial evidence for investigation and trial and bring transparency and
efficiency to criminal investigations.
All in all, I
find The BNSS’s to focus on medical examinations and aligns with its
broader goal of making the criminal justice system more victim-centric. By
facilitating thorough examinations, it prioritizes the well-being of victims
and strengthens the evidentiary foundation of cases.
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Related Blogs:
Old Meets New: A Comprehensive Guide to Investigation Procedures Under Section 176 BNSS
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