Forensic medicine: is the application of medical and paramedical knowledge in the
administration of law and justice. Legal medicine and state medicine are other names for it.
Medical jurisprudence: deals with the legal rights, privileges, duties and obligations of
medical practitioner.
LEGAL PROCEDURE
INQUEST:
It is the legal or judicial inquiry to ascertain matter or fact. (Cr.P.C. 174)
It is the investigation into the cause of death. It is conducted in cases of murder, suicide,
accidents and suspicious deaths.
1) Police inquest: done by the Officer-in-charge of the police station (S.174, Cr.P.C).
Medico-legal autopsy is ordinarily done on requisition of the sub-inspector of police. The
inquest report is signed by the police officer and two witnesses.
2) Coroner’s inquest: in Bombay till 1999. Coroner’s court is a court of enquiry and not of
trial.
3) Magistrate’s inquest: done by an Executive Magistrate (Collector, Deputy collector,
Tahsildar, etc) in cases of death in police custody, death due to police firing, death in
prison, dowry death & exhumation (S.176, Cr.P.C).
COURTS OF LAW: Criminal and Civil.
Supreme Court: is the highest court and has power of supervision over all courts of law. It is
purely an appellate court. A supreme court Judge can pass any sentence authorized by law.
High Court: highest court for state. It may try any case and pass any sentence authorized
by law.
Sessions Court: can pass any sentence authorized by law, but a death sentence passed by
it must be confirmed by the High court (S.366, Cr.P.C).
An Assistant Sessions court can pass a sentence of imprisonment up to 10 years.
Magistrate Courts are of 3 types:
Chief Judicial Magistrate: can pass a sentence of imprisonment up to 7 years and any
amount of fine.
I Class Judicial Magistrate: can pass a sentence of imprisonment up to 3 years and fine up
to 5000 rupees.
II Class Judicial Magistrate: can pass a sentence of imprisonment up to 1 year and fine up
to 1000 rupees.
OFFENCES:
Offence may be Cognisable or non-cognisable.
Cognisable offence: It is an offence in which a police officer can arrest a person without
warrant from the Magistrate, e.g., rape, murder, robbery, etc.
The common punishments allowed by law awarded are:
(i) Death (hanged by neck till death)
(ii) Imprisonment for life. (Max. up to 20 years)
(iii) Imprisonment of sometime but less severe than life imprisonment. This may be the form
of simple or rigorous imprisonment.
(iv) Monetary fine (Sec.53, I.P.C)
(v) Detentions in reformatories. DRC
The death sentence can be commuted by the President of India (on mercy appeal), by
Supreme Court of India (on appeal or by the High Court by merits).
Subpoena or Summons:
- is a written document issued by the court and served on the witness under a penalty
in all cases by the Police officer to attend the court for giving evidence on a particular
day and time (S.174, I.P.C; S. 87, Cr.P.C). - It may be served from a criminal or civil court.
- The witness will be excused from attending the court, if he has a valid and urgent
reason. - If the witness fails to attend the Court: (1) in a civil case, he will be liable to pay
damages, and (2) in a criminal case, to fine or imprisonment (S. 172, I.P.C).
Conduct money - fee paid to a witness at the time of serving the summons to cover the expenses for
attending the court. - Given only in civil cases.
- In no case the medical practitioner should insist on conduct money when he receives
a subpoena from Criminal court because he is liable to be charged with contempt of
court.
Perjury means giving wilful false evidence while under oath, or failure to tell what he
knows or believes to be true (S.191, I.P.C). The witness is liable to be prosecuted for perjury,
and the imprisonment may extend to 7 years (S. 193, I.P.C).
