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chandresh sankhla   04 December 2019

FSL by photo copy is legal or not

In a civil criminal case police got photo copy from gov.office .. and got fal done on the behalf of photo copy .. original Was lost so only photo copy is kept in gov.office


Learning

 1 Replies

Vrinda   02 May 2022

Hello sir/ma'am,

FSL is Forensic Science Laboratory report.

Govind vs State Of Madhya Pradesh, 2001 (4) MPHT 466

FSL is not a public document and therefore it's certified copy cannot be admitted in court. 

A photostat copy of a letter is secondary evidence that can be admitted if the original is lost or not immediately available for whatever reason. However, it is not conclusive proof of the truthfulness of the material contained therein. After inspecting the original records, photostat copies of papers should be allowed as evidence, as the validity of a document was a key issue. The witness can be shown and questioned about the Xerox copy of the document on file, but that does not mean the document is admissible in evidence. 
A Xerox copy of the forensic report sent by FSL after certifying the same as true copy, was held to be admissible in evidence as officer of the FSL had no interest in concocting report against the accused.

If the witness admits to signing the document, an objection might be made to the court at that time, claiming that the document could not be displayed since it was a copy. In a case where the original Photostat copy was produced but there was no proof of its accuracy, comparison, or that it was a true reproduction of the original, it was decided that the Photostat copy could not be considered secondary evidence because the necessary foundation for its reception had not been laid. A photostat copy of a document cannot be used as secondary evidence unless it is proven to be authentic or the signatory acknowledges his signature.
Therefore, a photovopy of the same can be submitted if it the orignal fsl or the primary evidence is lost. 

Hope this resolves your query!

Regards

Vrinda Malik


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