Legal weapon

January 28, 2010

A leading Bollywood actress found her cheque book had been stolen and several cheques totalling Rs 10 crore had been issued, forging her signature. The suspect cheques were forensically examined and the forger was identified, making it possible to recover the money in a few days.


A DNA test proved that a husband's suspicions about the paternity of his wife's second child were baseless, ending years of marital strife.
Forensic examination of a will proved that it had been forged by an unscrupulous member of the family. The contents of the will had divided the family for over two generations.
A leading industrialist was robbed of priceless family jewellery from his Delhi farmhouse. Fingerprint and forensic experts visited the site and, within three hours, identified the culprit who confessed to the crime.
Forensic science is the cutting edge of modern criminology and crime, and TV serials like CSI show us just why. The above examples are all cases that were solved in a forensic laboratory with one surprising twist: they were processed at India's first independent, private forensic science laboratory (FSL). Truth Labs (TL) is a Hyderabad-based initiative involved in helping the victims of crime; one through forensic examination and collection to be passed on to the police, and the other by examining evidence referred by individuals, the police and courts. Be it examining documents, analysing fingerprints, DNA profiling, polygraph testing, authenticating audio and video records, investigating a crime scene, screening a suspect from a psychological perspective or using any other probe to pinpoint the offender, TL is emerging as an effective investigating agency to complement existing governmentrun institutions. Private parties are using TL to resolve disputes that spring up over inheritance, forgery, impersonation, marital infidelity, and even corporate espionage. Being a non-profit organisation and part of a public society called Truth Foundation adds to TL's credibility. After Hyderabad, it has also expanded to Delhi and Bangalore. Chennai and Mumbai are on the horizon too.


What's more significant is that TL is not just emerging as an alternate dispute resolution mechanism for out-of-court settlements but is pioneering proactive forensics, which is relatively unknown in India. For the first time here, forensic services are available in an institutional setting under one roof and at international standards. An added advantage is it ensures privacy and confidentiality. Armed with scientific proof garnered by TL, the Hyderabad Police arrested a local power broker for letting out a huge commercial property with a forged rental deed. Fingerprint and document analyses carried out by TL helped establish the ownership of a disputed piece of agricultural land in northwest Delhi worth Rs 3 crore. In another case, a family from Mumbai approached TL for polygraph testing after a young bride confessed that her father-in-law had propositioned her when it was discovered that her husband was infertile and they were planning to have a test tube baby.

"The existing evidence laws are strong enough, if only those presenting evidence utilise it competently and confidently with professionalism."

KPC Gandhi, Truth Lab's founder

What TL's successes also prove is that investigations can be fast-tracked by using proper scientific methods. In a daring case of power abuse, by forging the signatures of the Karnataka governor, his adviser and special secretary, a Bangalore-based flying academy tried to get favours for the contract of maintenance, operation, training and other services for Raj Bhavan. The crime was solved within a week. TL has also been helpful in resolving false claims. In a child swapping case referred by the district hospital in Mandya, Karnataka, DNA testing by TL established that the child had not been swapped. Similarly, when a Delhi maid claimed hereditary rights saying that the father of her child was a son of the landlord, DNA tests proved that she was wrong.

The lab gets four or five calls every day asking for consultancy from individuals as well as courts. Being a private agency, it is free of the red tape and bureaucratic procedures which delay investigation, conviction and even court proceedings. There are 25 state-run and four Centre-run FSLs, which receive cases after months and, at times, years later from the police or courts. When, finally, the reports are sent, the courts take a few more months or even years to give the final verdict. This delay, during which vital evidence may also be lost, is why both the police and courts are increasingly banking on TL. The Karnataka Police have made it a practice for the CID to send all cases to TL directly. The Delhi Police, too, have directed all their police stations to refer cases in matters of urgency, importance and sensitive nature to TL.

Forensic reports in seven days means investigations are fast-tracked and bureaucratic sloth bypassed.

TL averages seven days to submit its report, that too with ISO 9001 certification by legally valid and accredited experts. Moreover, it's a boon for individuals who can't approach government-run FSLs to resolve their personal matters--unless they approach the police in criminal cases or courts in civil cases. Now individuals and institutions are, without reporting to the police, turning to TL to resolve disputes, ranging across Internet fraud, corporate fraud, identity theft, false insurance claims and child paternity disputes to maintain their confidentiality. "Many a time, individuals and organisations are confronted with the problem of providing evidence to prove their statements to the police or courts. Due to lack of knowledge and resources to provide tangible proofs, they end up in frustration. TL has the knowledge, expertise and resources to advise those interested in obtaining evidence," says its founder Dr KPC Gandhi, a former IGP and director, Andhra Pradesh FSL. TL's findings are legally valid as the teams comprise recognised forensic experts. "The existing evidence laws are strong enough, if only those presenting evidence utilise it competently and confidently with professionalism," he says.

TL is inspired by Truth Labs Inc US, which operates on the same non-profit principles. The main problem TL faces in India is the shortage of trained professionals. It is collaborating with the University of Hyderabad, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, and the Bureau of Police Research and Development to raise standards and spread its net wider. As of now, TL acts as a facilitator and takes over where both the civil and criminal justice system have faced delays and incompetence. Considering how often that happens, private labs like TL are a welcome addition to crime busting in India.