Medical Evidence: Corroborative or Decisive Factor Based on a Case Series

Abstract

In all Medico-legal cases and sudden suspicious deaths, an Autopsy is done to establish the cause of death. An Autopsy examination is compulsory in all cases of homicides to fx the probable cause of death, time since death, nature of injuries, and the probable weapon used. Sometimes, problems may arise when there is a conflict between the Doctor’s opinion and the eyewitness testimony. In such cases, there arises the question of whether the court will admit the doctors’ evidence or the eye witness testimony. In the present case series, we have examined fve cases of homicide with the court verdict and found that in some cases the verdict was delivered based on the post-mortem report and in some casesit was based on both the post-mortem report and the eyewitness testimony. In a few cases, it was based only on the eyewitness testimony. In cases of where there was a conflict of opinion, the testimony of eyewitnesses was considered superior.