HC asks surgeons to conduct autopsy as per guidelines

Madurai,Jan18(PTI) The Madras High Court has askedsurgeons to conduct autopsy on bodies following the guidelineslaid down by renowned authors such as Modi, Coax, Tailor andNarayan Reddy on medical jurisprudence.

Surgeons should not issue certificates bereft of details,Justice T. Mathivanan said ordering re-investigation by a DSPinto the death of a 24-year-old man, who was found hangingfrom a tree under SIPCOT police station limits in Krishnagiridistrict on March 1, 2010.

A Sub inspector had concluded the death to be a case ofsuicide and filed a final report stating further action wasdropped.

The man''s father,S.Krishnan had moved the High Courtalleging that his son had been murdered by a six member gangand that he had seen them stack two bodies inside adilapidated building. Police did not investigate the matterdespite his representation to the SP, he alleged.

The Judge said the SI failed to consider severalmaterial facts. No investigation was done to trace the ownerof the sari used for hanging.Three empty liquor bottles,plastic tumblers,water packets and cigarette packets foundnear the body were also recoverd.

"On perusing the observation of Mazhazar, rough sketchand photographs, two important medico legal questions arisewhether the death was caused by hanging:whether hanging wassuicidal or homicide," the judge said.

"A doctor who conducts the postmortem has theresponsibility to answer these questions.But,a reading ofthe post mortem certificate issued in this case on March 1,2010 does not have any details as required in medicaljurisprudence," the court said.

"The doctor has not even chosen to say as to whetherthe ligature mark found around the neck was ante-mortem orpost mortem. The doctor has not evinced much interest toexamine the sub-cutaneous tissue and the skin underneath theligature mark by way of layer-by-layer disection," the judgesaid.

"Similarly the police officer who conducted theinvestigation has not taken interest to cut and remove theknot and preserve it to be given to the doctor who conductedthe post mortem," the judge said.