The science has been questioned. The courts have said so.
Standards, precedents and verified reporting, for defence lawyers, legal aid practitioners and courts working with forensic evidence in Indian criminal proceedings.
Forensic evidence in the news.
- Rajasthan High Court acquits three in sexual assault case, cites delayed FIR, late forensic samples (opens in a new tab)
- Tripura High Court Examines Police Lapses in 987-Kg Ganja Case: FIR Errors, 36-Day Forensic Delay and Missing Malkhana Register (opens in a new tab)
- When Judges Compare Handwriting: Is Judicial Eyesight Enough? (opens in a new tab)
- Rajasthan HC seeks FSL check of CCTV recorders before deciding death sentence in Sikar murder case (opens in a new tab)
- Delhi HC orders forensic examination of disputed audio in BPTP case (opens in a new tab)
- S.72 BSA | Courts Must Compare Signatures Themselves, Expert Evidence Cannot Be Called Routinely In... (opens in a new tab)
- Karnataka High Court Grants Bail to Man in Alleged Tampering of Forensic Report Case (opens in a new tab)
- Gujarat HC Upholds Acquittal, Says DNA Report Cannot Be Relied On Without Examining Scientific Expert (opens in a new tab)
Updated hourly. Headlines link to the original publishers.
Courts have set aside convictions. Dismissed FSL reports. Demanded disclosure.
A DNA report is only as good as the collection behind it.
Manoj & Ors. v. State of Madhya Pradesh · 2022 INSC 606
The Court gave the DNA report little weight: samples taken from an open area carried a real chance of contamination, and articles reached the laboratory after an unexplained delay. It stressed quality control at every stage.
Read on Indian Kanoon (opens in a new tab)Without its certificate, an electronic record is not admissible.
Arjun Panditrao Khotkar v. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal · (2020) 7 SCC 1
An election case, but the rule covers all electronic evidence: the Section 65B(4) certificate, now Section 63(4) BSA, is mandatory. Digital and cyber matters start here.
Read on Indian Kanoon (opens in a new tab)Expert evidence is advisory. Its worth lies in the reasons and data behind it.
State of Himachal Pradesh v. Jai Lal · (1999) 7 SCC 280
The Court must form its own judgment on the expert’s reasons and data. A report does not become evidence on its own: the expert has to be examined and face cross-examination.
Read on Indian Kanoon (opens in a new tab)Withholding the best evidence weakens the prosecution’s case.
Tomaso Bruno v. State of Uttar Pradesh · (2015) 7 SCC 178
A murder conviction was set aside. CCTV footage and call records were never produced, the Court drew an adverse inference, and the medical evidence left real doubt about the cause of death.
Read on Indian Kanoon (opens in a new tab)Fingerprint evidence alone cannot carry a conviction.
Hari Om @ Hero v. State of Uttar Pradesh · Criminal Appeal 1256 of 2017, decided 5 January 2021
Three accused, one sentenced to death, were acquitted. The Court found no clarity in how the prints were lifted, and held that fingerprint expert evidence is not substantive evidence.
Read on Indian Kanoon (opens in a new tab)Break the chain of custody and the DNA evidence goes.
Kattavellai @ Devakar v. State of Tamil Nadu · 2025 INSC 845
A death sentence ended in acquittal. Swabs reached the laboratory six weeks late with no record of who held them, so the DNA evidence was discarded. The Court then set nationwide rules: samples at the laboratory within 48 hours and a chain-of-custody register from collection to verdict.
Read on Indian Kanoon (opens in a new tab)International & Indian standards.
ISO/IEC 17025
The international standard for laboratory competence: personnel, method validation and quality assurance.
NABL accreditation
India’s accreditation body for testing laboratories. A lapse against it is a direct audit finding.
SWGDAM guidelines
Consensus guidance on DNA interpretation, mixture analysis and statistical reporting.
ISFG recommendations
International Society for Forensic Genetics guidance on DNA evidence and probabilistic genotyping.
Discipline working groups
SWGDRUG for seized drugs, SWGTOX for toxicology, SWGFAST for fingerprints, SWGDOC for questioned documents and SWGGUN for firearms and toolmarks.
Manufacturer documentation
Validated protocols and known error limits for laboratory instruments. A deviation is a primary audit target.
Reading room.
- Forensic Science India Report (opens in a new tab)
- The Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR (opens in a new tab)
- LiveLaw: forensic science (opens in a new tab)
- Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States (opens in a new tab)
- Forensic Science in Criminal Courts (opens in a new tab)
- UK Forensic Science Regulator (opens in a new tab)
- Innocence Project: misapplied forensic science (opens in a new tab)
- National Registry of Exonerations (opens in a new tab)
Does the science in your forensic report support its conclusion? Let a scientist check.
Our scientists will tell you whether there are grounds for an independent review.