HC issues directions on working of FSLs across state

The High Court has issued interim directions to upgrade the Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) across the state.

The directions include filling up of vacancies, procurement of equipment and fixing the time line from the time of collection of the sample to the submission of the report.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the orders after hearing the submissions made by the Home department and perusing action plan drawn up by the Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratory.

A suo motu PIL was registered considering the request placed by a single judge Justice Suraj Govindaraj noticing a delay of four years in getting a FSL report in a criminal petition.

The bench directed the state government to appoint Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) at all the police stations in the state within a period of six months. In regard to the three posts of joint director which are all vacant, the court directed that one post ought to be filled up by deputing an IPS officer of a super-time scale from the Police department as a Joint Director of Administration within one month. And, the other two posts (promotional posts) should be filled on an ad-hoc basis within four months.

The state government has also been directed to operationalise within six months, District Scientific Aid (DSA) units in every district with staff consisting of one senior scientific officer, two scientific officers and one lab attender with a fully equipped mobile forensic laboratory. The court also said that at least five posts of deputy directors, six posts of assistant directors, 20 posts of senior scientific officers will have to be filled in ad-hoc measures within four months.

“Certain new sections like advanced digital forensic, explosives, wildlife forensics and other sections are required to be established and made operational in the State Forensic Science Laboratory as also at all the Regional Forensic Science Laboratories. We direct that the same be done within nine months,” the bench said. The matter was posted to October 8, 2021 to consider the compliance report by the state government.

The single judge’s observations on the functioning of the FSLs were part of the order in a criminal petition dated December 22, 2020. It had noted that as on November 30, 2020, a total of 35,738 samples pertaining to 6,994 cases were pending with FSLs. Of these, 6,868 samples were of narcotic cases, 3,968 samples related to DNA and 9,958 pertaining to cases questioning the authenticity of documents.