Khushi Doshi
Published on: April 14, 2022 at 07:40 IST
The Kerala High Court directed the State Government to establish Well-Equipped Forensic Science/Chemical Laboratories in the State to ensure that accurate Forensic Reports are provided to the Court within three weeks of sample Submission.
To address the issues of High Crime rates and Case Backlogs, Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V stated that the State must establish advanced Labs to assist the Prosecution by ensuring Reports reach Courts as soon as possible.
The Single-Judge opined that the maximum time for Submitting such Reports should be three weeks, as any longer delay would indicate the system as a whole collapsing.
The High Court noted that the Backlog in such labs across the state is well-known, as it is a common refrain in Courts that labs are working far beyond their capacity, and thousands of samples forwarded much earlier are still awaiting testing.
According to the High Court, a lack of Investment in Forensic Science, which is an Essential Branch of Jurisprudence, is leading to an alarmingly high Acquittal Rate.
Because the Accused’s Legal insanity can only be considered during the Trial, it was argued that keeping a Mentally insane person in Prison for such a long time would be a Travesty of Justice.
The Court noted that the Petitioner had been detained since December 2019 and that the Report from the Forensic Science Lab had yet to be forwarded to the Session Court.
Given that the Right of an Accused to a Speedy Trial has been recognised as implicit in the scope of Article 21, and taking into account the Facts of the Case, the Court granted Bail to the Petitioner on the condition that he post a Bond of one Lakh with two Solvent Sureties.
