Dynamics of Indian Forensic Science Research

Evolution Of Forensic Science

The evolution of the practice of Forensic Science dates back to prehistoric period. Fingerprint patterns were used as the first means of establishing personal identity. The complex patterns inherent in fingerprints were noticed even by primitive man, as evidenced by their incorporation in prehistoric paintings and rock carvings (Ashbaugh, 2000). The use of fingerprints for identification by the Babylonians and later by the Chinese seems clear from the archaeological relics of clay tablets and other legal documents bearing the prints of interested parties (Morland, 1950). Indians studied various patterns of the papillary lines, thousands of years ago. It is presumed that they knew about the persistency and individuality of fingerprints, which they used as signatures (Nanda & Tewari, 2001). In the ancient Sangam Age Tamil literature ‘Chilapathigaram’, Kannagi, wife of the wrongly convicted Kovalan confronts the Pandya King with an anklet as physical evidence and proved his innocence. In The Holy Bible, Solomon, the king of Israel, used the principles of psychology to adjudicate when two women claimed to be the mother of the same child.