Introduction
Postmortem is also known as an autopsy which is an examination of a dead body by the medical officers to investigate the causes and time of death of deceased in criminal cases. Object of post-mortem is to discover the innocence or guilt of the offender. It is a report on the basis of which court of law relies during the criminal proceedings because post mortem. report helps to determine the cause and manner of death.
Meaning of Post-Mortem
The term post mortem is a Latin term which means "After death"
Definition of Post-Mortem
Post-mortem is an examination of a dead body by an authorized medical officers to investigate the causes and time of death of deceased in criminal cases.
Objects of Post Mortem:
The objects of post mortem examination are,
• To determine the identity of a person.
• To determine the cause of death.
• To determine the time of death.
• In case of skeletal remains, to determine if they are human and if human, the probable cause of death and expected time of death.
Types of Death which Require Post Mortem:
Following are the types of death which require post mortem,
• Homicidal deaths.
• Suicidal deaths.
• Accidental deaths.
• Suspicious deaths.
Who can perform post mortem
Post mortem can be performed by an authorized medical officer in criminal cases in order to investigate the causes and time of death of the deceased.
Essentials of Post-Mortem
Following are the essential elements of post mortem report. Details are as under.
1. Written
It is necessary that post mortem report should be written by the medical officer, Immediately after completion of examination of the deceased.
2. Preservation of evidentiary material
It is necessary that if during the post mortem any evidentiary material is found, in this case it should be preserved by the medical officer
3. Careful Examination of deceased
It is necessary that the dead body should be examined by medical officer with intensive care so that facts may be observed
4. Cause of Death
It is necessary that after careful examination of the body, the cause of death should be mentioned in the post mortem report by medical officer
5. Particulars of report
It is necessary that after completion of post mortem, the medical officer should mention deceased's name, parentage, age, address, place of occurrence, types of injuries, and causes of death in the post mortem report.
6. Formal language
It is very necessary that post mortem report should be in formal language and no technical language should be used in the report so that the court may be able to understand the facts mentioned in the report.
7. Description
It is necessary that the medical officer should mention the type of weapons used in the description. As well as medical officer is under an obligation to mention the facts observed.
Purposes of Post Mortem
Following are the purposes of the medico legal report. Details are as under.
1. Identification
Primary objective of the post mortem is an identification of deceased person if it is out of identification such as it happened in the cases of explosions, fire, accidents, unknown. bodies or flood: it is only possible by DNA report.
2. Cause of death
Secondary objective of the post mortem is to provide the cause of death of deceased person for the guidance of court of law.
3. Finding of facts
Third objective of the post mortem is to find out the facts which were caused of death of deceased person for the guidance of the court of law.
4. Final findings
Final objective of the post mortem is to provide that whether injury suffered by deceased person was due to criminal activity or not.
Rules regarding conduction of post mortem
Following are the rules regarding conduction of the post-mortem. Details are as under.
1. Written authorization
It is a rule that post mortem cannot be conducted until a written authorization is taken by: authorized person.
2. Examination in daylight
It is a rule that post mortem should be conducted in the daylight as far as possible instead. of under artificial light
3. Avoid unnecessary delay
It is a rule that post mortem should not unnecessarily be delayed.
4. Presence of unknown person
It is a rule that the post mortem should not be conducted in the presence of unknown person.
5. Examination of blood
It is a rule that clean blood sample should be taken for examination for important biological tests.
6. Identification of deceased
It is a rule that the medical officer must find the identity of the deceased person and mention the grounds of such identification.
7. Examination of clothes
It is a rule that clothes of the deceased should be examined because it also helps to find the facts such as marks of blood stains, gunshots on the clothes helps in this regard.
How Post Mortem is Conducted:
Post mortem is conducted in two ways:
• External Examination.
• Internal Examination.
External Examination:
The following steps should be followed for the external examination,
1. Identification:
The dead body must be identified before starting the post mortem. This identification must be made by a relative or friend of a deceased person.
2. Clothing
The clothing should be carefully examined for stains of mud, tears, loss of button, etc. indicating struggle before they are removed.
3. Stains:
Stains of blood, semen or vomit, etc. should be described and preserved for chemical analysis.
4. Cord or Rope
In case of cord or rope around the neck, its exact position, manner and application of knot should be noted.
5. Age
The age should be given frim the presence of teeth and other appearances.
6. Condition of Body:
The general condition of the body should be noted.
7. Eyes
The eyes should be examined and cornea and lens should be observed and any change should be noted.
8. Condition of Natural Orifices (Holes)
The condition of natural orifices such as nose, mouth, ear, vagina and anus should be observed and any change from the normal condition should be noted.
9. Hands:
The hands should be very clearly examined for cuts around the fingers, over knuckles and any injury or change should be mentioned.
10. Finger Nails
The finger nails should be examined for the presence of blood, dust or any other foreign matter indicating struggle.
11. Direction:
The direction of blood and the signs of emitting of blood should be noted if any.
12. Surface of Body
The whole surface of the body should be carefully examined before and after washing from head to foot and back and front, and should be noted.
13. Surgical Marks, Skin Disease and Other Signs.
Presence of surgical marks, skin disease and other signs should be noted.
14. External Injuries:
External injuries such as wounds, burns or other injuries should be recorded with full detail and measurement if possible.
15. Neck and Heads
Neck and head should be carefully examined for signs of violence.
16. Time of Death:
Time of death should be noted from the temperature of the body.
Internal Examination:
In case of internal examination, all the three cavities Le, skull, throat and abdomen should be opened and examined. No post mortem shall be completed until all the parts of body have been examined and dissected in detail. The spinal cord shall not be examined unless there is doubt of some injury to vertebral column.
Post Mortem Report:
After completing the post-mortem examination, the medical officer should form an opinion as to cause and manner of death. Then he should prepare a post-mortem report in this regard. The report is then sent to the court. Nothing should be altered or erased from the report.
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