Forensic Science and Physical Evidence Questions and Answers

Answer: A

The term expert evidence refers to the opinion of experts, which is dealt with in section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act, where the opinion of persons specially skilled in science, art, foreign law or in identity of handwriting or finger impressions is a relevant fact. Section 131 of the Indian Evidence Act deals with the production of documents which another person, having possession, could refuse to produce, so it does not apply. The Criminal Procedure Code does not define expert evidence in these sections. So A is correct.

Answer: D

Teaching of forensic science in India started for the first time in 1959 at Sagar, in the University of Sagar in Madhya Pradesh (now Dr. Harisingh Gour University), where a department of forensic science was set up. Delhi, Hyderabad and Patiala have forensic laboratories and institutes that developed later. So D is correct. The department at Sagar trained some of the first forensic scientists in the country, so Sagar is the place where teaching started in 1959, and the other three cities developed their forensic institutions later.

Answer: A

Sherlock Holmes is a character created by Arthur Conan Doyle, who introduced him in the novel A Study in Scarlet in 1887 and then wrote further novels and many short stories about him.

Agatha Christie wrote detective novels with Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Perry Mason is a lawyer detective of the American author Erle Stanley Gardner, not an author. Victor Hugo was a French novelist, known for Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Only Doyle's name goes with Holmes.

Answer: A

The official key gives Ahmedabad as the city where a new Central Forensic Science Laboratory has not been started. The new central laboratories of the 2000s were set up at Bhopal, Guwahati and Pune, while Ahmedabad has a state forensic laboratory of Gujarat and not a central one. I could not check the founding dates against a source, so the key is followed.

Bhopal, Guwahati and Pune are the options that are central laboratories, and for a question that says not, they are therefore wrong.

Answer: C

The statement that is not true is that the report may contain statements made by the parties or witnesses at a later stage. An accident report records what was found at the scene and what was said then, so it does not carry statements made later; they are recorded separately.

A diagram of the position of vehicles, a diagram of tyre marks and impact marks, and photographs of the scene are all standard parts of an accident report, so those three options are true.

Answer: D

All three listed items are essential in a proper sketch of the scene of a crime, so the answer is all of the above, option D. A sketch must show the north direction, so that the orientation of the scene can be understood afterwards, the scale, or a statement that it is not to scale, so that distances can be worked out, and a legend, which explains the symbols and letters used for the objects on the sketch. Since each of options A, B and C is only one of these elements, none is complete alone.

Answer: A

The key gives 3 inches (option A) for the distance from the spot within which the control sample of blood stained soil is usually taken. A control, or comparison, sample is collected from soil near the stain, where it has not been affected by the blood, so that the analyst can show that any finding comes from the blood and not from the soil itself. The larger distances of one foot, two feet and three feet in options B, C and D are not accepted by the key, since soil from further away may differ from the soil under the stain. The answer rests on the key. Control samples are important in any trace evidence work: they show what the background material is, so that a finding on the questioned sample can be attributed to the evidence and not to its surroundings.

Answer: A

The key gives 3, 4, 2, 1 (option A). William Herschel, an official in Bengal, first used fingerprints for identification in the 1850s, so he goes with fingerprints (3). Albert Osborn wrote Questioned Documents, so he goes with questioned documents (4). Wilton Krogman is a forensic anthropologist (2), and Hatcher, who wrote Textbook of Firearms Investigation, is a name linked with ballistics (1). Option B assigns Herschel to anthropology, option C pairs Osborn with fingerprints and option D pairs Herschel with ballistics, so each of them is rejected.

Answer: C

The correct sequence is to protect the crime scene, photograph it, collect and dispatch the physical evidence, and then interview witnesses, which is option C. The scene is protected first so that evidence is not lost or disturbed, and photographed before anything is moved, so that its state is recorded. The evidence is then collected and sent to the laboratory. Option A photographs the scene after the interview, option B photographs before protecting the scene, and option D starts with the interview and ends with the protection of the scene, which would let the scene be spoilt.

Answer: D

The correct pairing is a-iii, b-i, c-iv, d-ii. Twine is a physical object whose fibre structure, twist and construction are compared with physical methods, so it goes to the Physics section. Saliva is a biological fluid examined for blood group and secretor status, which is the work of the Biology section. Pesticide residues are poisons and are handled by the Toxicology section. Adulteration of gasoline is a question of chemical composition and is tested in the Chemistry section.

The other code strings place saliva or pesticide in the wrong laboratory section, for example by sending pesticide to Chemistry or twine to Biology, so they fail on at least one pair.