YEmailing IDENTIFICATION OF LIVING DEAD PART 1 chp1_250220_001745

1Identification of Living & Dead

Dr. Jayati Nayak

Definition of Identification

  • Identification refers to the process of establishing the individuality of a person.

  • The aggregate of characteristics by which an individual is recognized by themselves and by others is termed as identity.

  • The identification process in this chapter focuses on individual physical characteristics and material evidence.

  • The responsibility for identification rests primarily with police officers and doctors.

Types of Identification

A) Complete Identification / Total Identification

  • This occurs when all details of an individual’s identity are known, allowing for precise identification in society.

  • It signifies the absolute fixation of an individual's individuality.

B) Incomplete / Partial Identification

  • Situations where only some identity points are known, leading to uncertainty in pinpointing the individual.

  • It involves the ascertainment of limited facts regarding identity while other aspects remain unknown.

Method of Identification

  • Identification may happen through matching physical features with known characteristics.

  • Constraints exist as complete identification may not be achievable without corroborating scientifically derived data.

Medicolegal Aspects of Identity

1) Identification in Living Individuals

  • Civil cases: impacts on inheritance, insurance claims, pension, marriage, passport, and sex disputes.

  • Criminal cases: includes accidents, rape, murder, cases involving absconding soldiers, missing persons, baby exchanges, and impersonation.

2) Identification in Deceased Individuals

  • Challenges arise during the identification of bodies found in unexpected conditions (e.g., outskirts or different cities) especially in cases of decomposition, mutilation, or in mass disaster scenarios such as accidents or natural calamities.

Medicolegal Rules

  • It is a legal obligation that any examination of an individual for identification requires written informed consent from the patient or their guardian.

Corpus Delicti

  • Corpus Delicti refers to body of the offence and the essence of the crime, which includes all evidence indicating homicide such as a dead body, bullets, broken weapon fragments, and damaged clothing.

  • In India, identifying a dead body poses difficulties due to faster decomposition, sometimes accelerated by environmental factors or animal activity.

  • Establishing the identity of a victim is critical in homicide cases.

Establishing Corpus Delicti

  • Focuses on proving the complete identity of the deceased as well as establishing that their death resulted from homicidal acts.

Importance of Corpus Delicti

  • A murder case can proceed even without the physical corpse if the definite identity of the deceased is established, accounting for scenarios where bodies may be destroyed or unidentifiable.

Identification in the Living

  • Relies primarily on recognition facilitated by personal impressions while using methods like handwriting, gait, speech, and unique fingerprints.

  • Techniques like mental caliber tests, educational assessments, and photography play key roles in living identification.

General Data for Identifying the Dead

  • Primary Characteristics: age, sex, stature.

  • Secondary Characteristics: features, personal effects, hair, scars, tattoos, external peculiarities, occupational stigmata, as well as demographic identifiers like race, religion, and nationality.