Forensic reports: Maharashtra HC issues notice

Nagpur: A High Court bench today issued notice to Maharashtra health department for computerization of forensic medical reports rather than writing them in a decipherable manner. The notice was issued over a PIL by Dr. Indrajit Khandekar, in-charge of state's first clinical forensic medicine unit at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sevagram. The forensic doctor approached the courts for computerization of Forensic Medical reports, a medico-legal document. He had filed the petition on the basis that unreadable handwriting of the doctors is difficult to comprehend and it is time consuming to understand it. Moreover, it creates a problem for courts and criminal system. He had submitted a detailed report of the study to the court and government agencies on the basis of which the High court issued notices to health and Home ministries of the State. A division bench of Justices Bhushan Gavai and Z A Haq today issued notices to health and Home ministries of state. Citing Khandekar's study, his counsel Vijay Patait contended that most of the handwriting of doctors on FMRs is not legible and a lot of time is consumed in deciphering it. He also highlighted problems posed during criminal and civil investigation because of the illegible handwriting. Advocate Patait contended that the FMRs prepared by doctors in cases of sexual assault, injuries in cases of assault, attempt to murder, road traffic accident, poisoning cases, person causing nuisance under the influence of alcohol, arrested person, dowry death, torture and murder cases, including post-mortem reports etc, play a major role in meeting the ends of justice.He further argued that illegible handwriting of medicos in FMRs is a cause of worry and even courts have expressed displeasure over the handwriting of doctors. The PIL pointed out that illegible handwriting causes tremendous problems in day-to-day functioning of the courts and it is one of the impediments in meeting the ends of justice, it leads to wastage of valuable time of judiciary during the trial of cases, is difficult to read for deciding the cases and creates confusion. Government pleader Nitin Sambhare accepted the notice on behalf of state ministry of health, which is returnable within five weeks.The PIL also pointed out that sometimes the concerned doctors, who prepare the medico-legal report, either leave the services of the hospital or are not traceable and other doctors are directed to appear in the court in their place, but due to illegible handwriting of the concerned doctor, the one deputed in the place is not able to decipher it. Thus, it causes great inconvenience in communicating the exact facts mentioned in the postmortem reports and FMRs during their evidence examination, which adversely affects the ends of justice and unnecessarily consumes lot of time of the court, the petition added.