Documents Relevant To

Post-Mortem Examination,
Viscera Preservation And
Sex Crime Examination
Moderator –
Dr. D. K. Das, M.D.
Associate Professor

Presented by –
Dr. Hiranya Ranjan Upadhyaya
PGT

DEPARTMENT OF FORENSIC MEDICINE,

GAUHATI MEDICAL COLLEGE, Bhangagarh,
Guwahati-32, Assam.
All images are for illustrative purposes only.
 Post-Mortem Examination

Alt. Autopsy, Necropsy, Autopsia cadaverum or Obduction.

Examination of a dead body, with a view to searching primarily for

the cause of death.

May be

Clinical/Academic

Medicolegal/Forensic
 Objectives of an Autopsy
 To determine Cause of death (Natural; or Unnatural –
detection of injuries, abnormalities and/or diseases)

 To find out how any injuries detected may have been

caused

 Time of death (expressed as an approximate range)

 Objectives of an Autopsy
(Continued)

 Manner of death (Accidental; Suicidal; or Homicidal)

 To establish identity when not known.

 To collect physical evidence to identify object causing

death/ criminal involved.
 Objectives of an Autopsy
(Continued)

 To retain relevant organs and tissues as evidence.

 To determine live birth and viability in case of

newborn infants.
 Documents Required To Carry Out
Autopsy

Essential

1) Inquest Report
2) Forwarding Letter
3) Dead Body Challan
4) Command Certificate
 Inquest Report
Investigation into cause of death.

May be conducted by Police (not below rank of Head

Constable, usually Sub-Inspector)

or by Magistrate (District Magistrate – Collector/Deputy

Commissioner; Sub-Divisional Magistrate – RDO;
Tahsildar; or any other Executive Magistrate)
 Police Inquest
PRINTED, IN ENGLISH
HANDWRITTEN, IN LOCAL LANGUAGE
Magisterial Inquest
 FORWARDING LETTER
- Addressed to the Office of
The Police Surgeon, to request
an autopsy, sometimes along
with additional objectives.

- Written by Investigating
Officer at the Police Station
where case was
reported/registered.
 DEAD BODY CHALLAN

Contains particulars of
escorting police
personnel and person(s)
capable of positively
identifying the decedent.
 COMMAND CERTIFICATE
Issued to the escorting
police personnel,
helpful in confirming
that chain of custody of
the evidence has been
maintained securely.
 Documents Required To Carry
Out An Autopsy

Additional

Death Certificate
 DEATH CERTIFICATE

If the decedent was

receiving treatment at any
hospital/was under
medical care prior to
death.
 Documents Issued Upon Completion of
Autopsy

 Medical Certification Of Cause Of Death Of Hospital In-

Patients (Form 4)

 Medical Certification Of Cause Of Death For Non-Institutional

Deaths (Form 4A)

 Post Mortem Report

MEDICAL CERTIFICATION OF CAUSE OF
DEATH OF HOSPITAL IN-PATIENTS

Form 4

Issued to next of kin, if

death occurred at same
hospital as autopsy was
carried out at.
MEDICAL CERTIFICATION OF CAUSE OF
DEATH FOR NON-INSTITUTIONAL
DEATHS

Form 4A

Issued to next of kin, if death

occurred when the decedent
received no medical care prior
to death, or at a hospital, but
not the same as where autopsy
was carried out at.
 POST MORTEM REPORT

Issued to the Police,

enumerates findings and
conclusions drawn from
the post mortem
examination.
 Viscera Preservation

May be done in cases of –

 Suspected poisoning death (suspicion on part of Police or

Doctor)

 Deceased was intoxicated or known/suspected drug user

 No apparent cause of death found during autopsy

 Unusual smell/colour/unidentifiable material in stomach

contents
 Viscera Preservation
(continued)

 Anaphylaxis

 Death due to burns

 Advanced decomposition

 Accidental death involving driver/machine operator

 Documents Required For Viscera
Analysis (At DFSL)
- Copy of Inquest Report

- Postmortem Report

- Authorization Letter

from Magistrate or minimum of Deputy Superintendent of Police

(upon application for viscera examination by Investigating Police
Officer)

Request for viscera preservation is made by the Investigating Officer

in the Forwarding Letter
 VISCERA LABELLING FORM

Attached to sealed
individual containers of
preserved specimens of
viscera, blood and
tissues for chemical
analysis.
 VISCERA DESPATCH FORM
Filled-in, signed, sealed in
specific envelope and sent off
with escorting police personnel,
to laboratory conducting
chemical analysis.

Contains details of sent items and short

case history along with particulars of
the case.
 Documents Relevant To Sex
Crime Examination

Forwarding Letter

Command Certificate
 Forwarding Letter

Usually, contains a request

for age determination of
alleged victim in addition
to the examination itself.
 X-RAY REQUISITION FORM

Filled out, signed and sent

over by police escort
accompanying the
individual, whose X-Ray is
needed for accurate
estimation of age.
 TESTING OF SWAB(S)
Actual testing is done at DFSL

Only sample swab collection,

packing labelling and sealing is done
during examination.

DNA Fingerprinting – informed

consent required prior to taking
sample.
 Reporting Results Of The
Examination
 Case history must be written down either verbatim or in terms closest in

meaning to words used by the person being examined.

 After obtaining informed consent, a thorough examination is carried out,

not merely so as to fulfil the specific requests as per the forwarding

letter, but also to minimize the possibility that no information/findings

of even uncertain relevance are overlooked and go undetected.

 Refusal To Allow Examination

 Refusal can be made by either alleged survivor or by accused, upon

learning about details of methodology of upcoming examination.

 Any refusal; by either party; must be recorded and acknowledged by

them in written form.
 SC Reporting
(Continued)

 If “survivor” refuses, consequences of doing so need to be

adequately explained but no coercion of any kind is permitted.

 If accused refuses, mild verbal coercion is also permitted to be

applied in addition to explaining the potential consequences.

 The two reports are countersigned at appropriate site(s) by both

parties to ensure accuracy and veracity of their accounts of the
alleged incident(s) written down as case history.
 REPORTING OF FINDINGS
AND CONCLUSION
Page 1
Personal details.

Identification of “survivor”
accused (if present) and police
escort
Registering of informed consent

Case history, as narrated by

individual who is examined.
 Reporting
(Continued)

PAGE 2 FOR FEMALE CASE PAGE 2 FOR MALE CASE

 Reporting
(Continued)

Page 3

Recording of X-Ray report(s)

Recording of Laboratory tests’

report(s)
Recording of professional opinion
of examining doctor based on
physical examination, radiography
and laboratory testing
Thank you!