PROJECT: LAW OF EVIDENCE

TOPIC:
Evidentiary value of DNA fingerprinting in the light of O.J.Simpons case

SUBMITTED BY: Swati Shanker

TABLE OF CONTENT:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. INTRODUCTION: ....................................................................................................................................... 3 DNA PROLIFILING PROCESS: ................................................................................................................. 4 APPLICATION OF DNA FINGERPRINTING: ......................................................................................... 5 DNA DATABASES: .................................................................................................................................... 8 FAKE DNA EVIDENCE: ............................................................................................................................ 9 SURREPTITIOUS DNA COLLECTING: ................................................................................................. 10 DNA TESTING IN USA: ........................................................................................................................... 10 INDIAN CASES WHERE IN DNA TESTING, WAS OF ASSISTANCE TO THE JUDICIAL TRIALS WERE: ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 THE PEOPLE V. ORENTHAL JAMES SIMPSON .................................................................................. 12 DNA TESTING IN INDIA:........................................................................................................................ 17 LEGAL ISSUES CONCERNED WITH DNA FINGERPRINTING: ........................................................ 17 1. 2. 3. Evidence Law. & DNA PROFILING: ............................................................................................ 17 Cr. P.C. & DNA PROFILING: ....................................................................................................... 18 DNA Profile & Human Rights: ....................................................................................................... 18

DISADVANTAGES OF DNA FIGERPRINTING: ................................................................................... 18 CONCLUSION: .......................................................................................................................................... 19 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 20

INTRODUCTION:
DNA fingerprinting also known as DNA testing, DNA typing, or Genetic fingerprinting is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles.1 DNA profiles are encrypted sets of numbers that reflect a person's DNA makeup, which can also be used as the person's identifier.2 A DNA fingerprint of an individual remains same throughout his lifetime and further it is unique for every individual. This serves as the basis of DNA fingerprinting. DNA fingerprinting is used for a variety of purposes like criminal investigation or parental testing e.t.c. Dr. Alec Jeffereys of the University of Leicester is known as the father of DNA fingerprinting. DNA analysis was first introduced into policing in 1986 by UK police in a murder investigation. DNA fingerprinting, has given police and the courts a means of identifying the perpetrators of rapes and murders with a very high degree of confidence.3 However, the admissibility of DNA fingerprinting as evidence in the court of law is still a matter of debate. The arguments given against this usually focuses on the misuse of such techniques and raises concerns over various moral and ethical aspects of this particular technique. This project analyses the evidentiary value of DNA fingerprinting in the light of various case laws and especially with reference to O.J.Simpsons murder trial case. In this project an attempt has been made to address various disputes associated with the admissibility of DNA evidence in the court of law.

1 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_profiling http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_profiling

http://goswamigk.indianscholars.org/2011/03/legal-issues-related-to-dna-fingerprinting-in-criminal-justicesystem/

DNA PROLIFILING PROCESS:

The very basis of the DNA fingerprinting process is that except for the identical twins DNA sequences are unique in each and every individual. Though, 99.9% of human DNA sequences are identical in every individual enough DNAs are different to help the scientists identify a person at the exclusion of others. Further, an individuals DNA cannot be changed by him even through operation. Thus, DNA prolifiling is permanent identifier of an individual by exclusion of all others. The DNA fingerprinting process starts by collecting some sample of individuals DNA. This sample is usually referred as the Reference sample. The best method of obtaining a DNA reference sample is the Buccal Swab in which DNA samples are collected from the inside cells of mouth. The DNA samples obtained in such manner have less chances of being contaminated. DNA samples can also be collected from blood, skin, hair, tissues or semen e.t.c. The technology today has proved to be so powerful that even the blood-stained clothing of Abraham Lincoln was used and the DNA analyzed for evidence of a genetic disorder called Marfan's Syndrome. 4 This reference sample is then analyzed through certain chemical reactions and the final patterns are compared with the samples of another DNA to arrive at a particular conclusion. At the very beginning the reliability of this particular method was challenged. It was argued that the outcomes of DNA fingerprinting cannot be accepted as substantial evidences in the court of law because they sometimes may produce faulty results either due to contamination of the sample or due to faulty preparation procedures. Thus, it has been recommended to improve the procedures employed in collection of reference samples and their tests.

http://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/Dnafingerprinting_criminalcases.htm

APPLICATION OF DNA FINGERPRINTING:

1. It is currently employed in paternity disputes 2. Identification of bodies of soldiers killed in war. 3. To diagnose inherited disorders in both prenatal and newborn babies. 4. Biological Evidence to Identify Criminals: Where fingerprints are not available but biological specimens are available like blood or semen stains, hair, or items of clothing at the scene of the crime then these items may prove to be valuable sources of DNA of the criminal. 5. Personal Identification - DNA maybe the best way to identify a person as all body tissues and organs contain the same DNA type. The specimen required also is very small. In fact the US army has been doing DNA fingerprinting of all its soldiers and has a huge databank. The DNA method for personal identification is far superior to the dental records and blood typing methods that were popularly being used. 6. Identify potential suspects whose DNA may match evidence left at crime scenes 7. Exonerate persons wrongly accused of crimes 8. Identify crime and catastrophe victims 9. Establish paternity and other family relationships 10. Identify endangered and protected species as an aid to wildlife officials (could be used for prosecuting poachers) 11. Detect bacteria and other organisms that may pollute air, water, soil, and food 12. Match organ donors with recipients in transplant programs 13. Determine pedigree for seed or livestock breeds 14. Authenticate consumables such as caviar and wine

HISTORY OF DNA FINGERPRINTING: CASE LAWS

In 1986, Richard Buckland was exonerated, despite having admitted to the rape and murder of a teenager near Leicester, the city where DNA profiling was first discovered. This was the first use of DNA finger printing in a criminal investigation. In 1987, in the same case as Buckland, British baker Colin Pitchfork was the first criminal caught and convicted using DNA fingerprinting. In 1987, genetic fingerprinting was used in criminal court for the first time in the trial of a man accused of unlawful intercourse with a mentally handicapped 14-year-old female who gave birth to a baby. In 1987, Florida rapist Tommy Lee Andrews was the first person in the United States to be convicted as a result of DNA evidence, for raping a woman during a burglary; he was convicted on November 6, 1987, and sentenced to 22 years in prison.[46][47] In 2003, Welshman Jeffrey Gafoor was convicted of the 1988 murder of Lynette White, when crime scene evidence collected 12 years earlier was re-examined

using STR techniques, resulting in a match with his nephew. This may be the first known example of the DNA of an innocent yet related individual being used to identify the actual criminal, via "familial searching". In March 2003, Josiah Sutton was released from prison after serving four years of a twelve-year sentence for a sexual assault charge. Questionable DNA samples taken from Sutton were retested in the wake of the Houston Police Department's crime lab scandal of mishandling DNA evidence. In June 2003, because of new DNA evidence, Dennis Halstead, John Kogut and John Restivo won a re-trial on their murder conviction. The three men had already served eighteen years of their thirty-plus-year sentences. The trial of Robert Pickton (convicted in December 2003) is notable in that DNA evidence is being used primarily to identify the victims, and in many cases to prove their existence. In 2004, DNA testing shed new light into the mysterious 1912 disappearance of Bobby Dunbar, a four-year-old boy who vanished during a fishing trip. He was allegedly found alive eight months later in the custody of William Cantwell Walters, but another woman
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claimed that the boy was her son, Bruce Anderson, whom she had entrusted in Walters' custody. The courts disbelieved her claim and convicted Walters for the kidnapping. The boy was raised and known as Bobby Dunbar throughout the rest of his life. However, DNA tests on Dunbar's son and nephew revealed the two were not related, thus establishing that the boy found in 1912 was not Bobby Dunbar, whose real fate remains unknown. In 2005, Gary Leiterman was convicted of the 1969 murder of Jane Mixer, a law student at the University of Michigan, after DNA found on Mixer's pantyhose was matched to Leiterman. DNA in a drop of blood on Mixer's hand was matched to John Ruelas, who was only four years old in 1969 and was never successfully connected to the case in any other way. Leiterman's defense unsuccessfully argued that the unexplained match of the blood spot to Ruelas pointed to cross-contamination and raised doubts about the reliability of the lab's identification of Leiterman. In December 2005, Evan Simmons was proven innocent of a 1981 attack on an Atlanta woman after serving twenty-four years in prison. Mr. Clark is the 164th person in the United States and the fifth in Georgia to be freed using post-conviction DNA testing. In March 2009, Sean Hodgson who spent 27 years in jail, convicted of killing Teresa De Simone, 22, in her car in Southampton 30 years ago was released by senior judges. Tests prove DNA from the scene was not his. British police have now reopened the case.

DNA DATABASES:
There are now several DNA databases in existence around the world. Some are private, but most of the largest databases are government controlled. The United States maintains the largest DNA database, with the Combined DNA Index System, holding over 5 million records as of 2007. The United Kingdom maintains the National DNA Database (NDNAD), which is of similar size, despite the UK's smaller population. The size of this database, and its rate of growth, is giving concern to civil liberties groups in the UK, where police have wide-ranging powers to take samples and retain them even in the event of acquittal The U.S. Patriot Act of the United States provides a means for the U.S. government to get DNA samples from other countries if they] are either a division of, or head office of, a company operating in the U.S. Under the act, the American offices of the company can't divulge to their subsidiaries/offices in other countries the reasons that these DNA samples are sought or by whom. When a match is made from a National DNA Databank to link a crime scene to an offender who has provided a DNA Sample to a databank that link is often referred to as a cold hit. A cold hit is of value in referring the police agency to a specific suspect but is of less evidential value than a DNA match made from outside the DNA Databank. In India also it has been recommended to form a DNA database.

Potential Advantages and Disadvantages of Banking Arrestee DNA

Advantages

Major crimes often involve people who also have committed other offenses. Having DNA banked potentially could make it easier to identify suspects, just as fingerprint databases do.

Innocent people currently are incarcerated for crimes they did not commit; if DNA samples had been taken at the time of arrest, these individuals could have been proven innocent and thereby avoided incarceration..

Banking arrestees' DNA instead of banking only that of convicted criminals could result in financial savings in investigation, prosecution, and incarceration.

Disadvantages

Arrestees often are found innocent of crimes. The retention of innocent people's DNA raises significant ethical and social issues. If peoples DNA is in police databases, they might be identified as matches or partial matches to DNA found at crime scenes. This occurs even with innocent people, for instance, if an individual had been at a crime scene earlier or had a similar DNA profile to the actual criminal.

Sensitive genetic information, such as family relationships and disease susceptibility, can be obtained from DNA samples. Police, forensic science services, and researchers using the database have access to peoples DNA without their consent. This can be seen as an intrusion of personal privacy and a violation of civil liberties.

Studies of the United Kingdoms criminal database, which retains the DNA samples of all suspects, show that ethnic minorities are over represented in the population of arrestees and are, therefore, overrepresented in the criminal DNA database. This raises the concern of an institutionalized ethnic bias in the criminal justice system.

Even the most secure database has a chance of being compromised.

FAKE DNA EVIDENCE:

The value of DNA evidence has to be seen in light of recent cases where criminals planted fake DNA samples at crime scenes. In one case, a criminal even planted fake DNA evidence in his own body: Dr. John Schneeberger raped one of his sedated patients in 1992 and left semen on her underwear. Police drew what they believed to be Schneeberger's blood and compared its DNA against the crime scene semen DNA on three occasions, never showing a match. It turned out

that he had surgically inserted a Penrose drain into his arm and filled it with foreign blood andanticoagulants.

SURREPTITIOUS DNA COLLECTING:

Police forces may collect DNA samples without the suspects' knowledge, and use it as evidence. Legality of this mode of proceeding has been questioned in Australia. In the United States, it has been accepted, courts often claiming that there was no expectation of privacy, citing California v. Greenwood (1985), during which the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the warrantless search and seizure of garbage left for collection outside the curtilage of a home. Critics of this practice underline the fact that this analogy ignores that "most people have no idea that they risk surrendering their genetic identity to the police by, for instance, failing to destroy a used coffee cup. Moreover, even if they do realize it, there is no way to avoid abandoning ones DNA in public." In the UK, the Human Tissue Act 2004 prohibited private individuals from covertly collecting biological samples (hair, fingernails, etc.) for DNA analysis, but excluded medical and criminal investigations from the offence.

DNA TESTING IN USA:

There are state laws on DNA profiling in all 50 states of the United States. Detailed information on database laws in each state can be found at the National Conference of State Legislatures website.

INDIAN CASES WHERE IN DNA TESTING, WAS OF ASSISTANCE TO THE JUDICIAL TRIALS WERE:

Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case (Chennai, Tamil Nadu), Naina Sahni or the Tandoor case (New Delhi),
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Priyadarshini Mattoo (New Delhi), Priyadarshini Matoo, 23, was allegedly raped and strangulated to death in her house in N. Delhi in Jan 1996, by her fellow student S. K. Singh , a son of a senior IPS officer. DNA test was conducted and test confirmed and connects the crime with criminal. But Defence argued and challenged the scientific procedure adopted in DNA probe. The Session Judge pronounced:Though I knew, he is the man (Santosh Singh), who committed the crime; I acquit him, giving him the benefit of doubt. Recently in Oct2010 SC has sentence him for life imprisonment.

Wildlife cases involving tiger poaching, Sambar deer, Wild pig, Peacocks etc. Swami Premananda (Puddukkotai, Tamil Nadu), Swami Shraddananda (Bangalore, Karnataka), Swaminarayan Ashram (Nadiad, Gujarat), Assam Ministers rape case (Assam), Jharkhand Mukthi Morcha (JMM) Case, (New Delhi), Indian Airforce Pilots identification case of Goa, Sishu Vihar Child adoption case (Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh), CRPF false gang rape case (Bhongir, Andhra Pradesh), Rape of minor by 72 year old man (Adilabad, Andhra Pradesh), Warangal hospital child swapping case (Warangal, Andhra Pradesh), New Zealand tourist murder case (Varanasi, U P), Chandradevi vs. State of Tamil Nadu (MANU/IN/2335/2002): Anantnag False encounter Case (Jammu & Kashmir), Black Buck killing case (Jodhpur, Rajasthan) Beanth Singh Assassination Case (Punjab) etc. Villainy Vs. Kunhiraman (March 1991, Kerla H.C.)To sort-out the paternity dispute to a unmarried woman- Vilasini, paternity test was conducted and Honble H.C. found Kuhiraman the father.

Identifying 9/11 victims: Remains of only 1585, of the 2792 people known to have died had been identified till 2005 and by invent of Bode Technology the small body segments were again processed to identify the remaining unidentified victims.

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Nirmaljeet Kaur Vs. The State of Punjab: Solved the riddle of family property dispute where a child was taken away from mothers custody at the age of 06 months and produced another child in the court after 04 years.

Diana R. murder case in Varanasi :A religious tourist and young lady from New

Zealand visited Varanasi in1997 and was reported missing by her father L.N. Jack Routley after one year since her last call. Dharam Dev Yadava, an unregistered tourist guide, was interrogated as suspect and buried skeleton of a human body was recovered from the cemented floor of a room in the house of the accused in district Gazipur. The body was identified as deceased using dental record analysis, skull super imposition and ultimately by DNA technology. Sessions Court awarded the principal accused- hanging till death and confirmed by H.C.

THE PEOPLE V. ORENTHAL JAMES SIMPSON

According to Time magazine, the announcement of the verdict in the O.J. Simpson murder trial on October 2, 1995, was "the single most suspenseful moment in television history."(13) At no time in history has someone as well-known and well-liked as O.J. Simpson been accused of such a heinous crime as slitting his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson's, throat and knifing to death her friend, Ronald Goldman. The Simpson case was a riveting spectacle for the American public, obsessed as it is with celebrity. As part of the media frenzy, DNA profiling, the crucial evidence in the case, received unprecedented attention. However, it is important to note that the existence of DNA evidence, does not necessarily lead to a conviction. The circumstances of a case are the most important factors in determining guilt or innocence, regardless of DNA. Due to the sensationalizing in the media, the public perception was that the prosecution in the Simpson case had a mountain of evidence based on DNA, when in reality they had little more than a molehill. The prosecution's case was based essentially on DNA evidence. One of the most important pieces of evidence was a bloody glove found at Simpson's Rockingham estate. This glove,
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allegedly Simpson's size, in a style he had worn, and a match for the one found at the crime scene, was said to contain fibers consistent with Goldman's shirt, Brown's and Goldman's hair, O.J.'s Ford Bronco, and limb hair from a black man. The blood was said to be a match for Goldman, Brown, and Simpson. Other important pieces of evidence included the bloodstained socks found on Simpson's bedroom floor, which contained blood that was a DNA match for both Simpson and Brown, the blood found at the back gate of the crime scene, which was a DNA match for Simpson, and the blood in O.J.'s Bronco, which matched all three of them. In addition, DNA testing as well as conventional serology testing linked Simpson to the drops of blood near the victims at the crime scene. It was an extremely powerful case. If all of the above evidence had been accepted as authentic by the jury, it would have led them to convict Simpson. The other side to this story turned out to be more important than the DNA evidence, and that is the way in which this evidence was collected. On deeper investigation, it was discovered that the prosecution's apparently solid mountain of evidence was not without its faults and crevices. It came to light that the prosecution and the Los Angeles Police Department had made serious mistakes in the handling of the DNA evidence during the early hours of the investigation. These included sending a trainee to collect blood samples; she had never before had primary responsibility for collecting blood evidence from a crime scene. Even more damning was the fact that LAPD Detective Vannatter carried around O.J. Simpson's blood in a vial in an unsealed envelope for three hours and went for a cup of coffee before booking it. Trial evidence allowed the defense to argue that 1.5 cc's of blood could not be accounted for by the prosecution. The defense suggested that this blood was planted by Vannatter, since the blood on the gate at the crime scene was not found during the initial investigation. This created a strong doubt in the minds of the jurors. In addition, under cross examination, LAPD criminalist Dennis Fung conceded to a litany of procedural errors. Due to the blunders and poor handling of the DNA evidence by the prosecution, the defense experts were able to shoot holes in what would have been a solid case. Laboratory negligence is a big issue concerning the admissibility of DNA evidence, and the defense used that to its benefit. The defense also brought up the results of a 1987 test in which both Cellmark and Forensic Science Associates reported out false results. They claimed that these test results pointed to a lab error rate of 2% (1 in 50 tests). In actuality, those tests were irrelevant because
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changes in protocols were made as a result of these tests and since then many thousands of tests have been successfully completed. Despite this, the defense's claim struck a chord with many who are wary of laboratory errors falsifying DNA test results. O.J. Simpson was not the only one on trial; so too was the future of DNA admissibility. Many scientists were hoping that the conviction of a celebrity murderer based on DNA profiling would open doors for DNA in the courtroom. Instead, despite the glaring amount of DNA evidence against Simpson, the defense was victorious and Simpson was acquitted. The future of DNA in the legal system remains uncertain.

One of the lasting effects of the O.J. Simpson case will likely be greater scrutiny by defense lawyers of the prosecution's forensic DNA evidence presented in criminal cases. In the Simpson case, the defense, in essence, put the crime laboratory on trial. The National Research Council (NRC) report, entitled DNA Technology in Forensic Science, states: "There is no substantial dispute about the underlying [DNA] scientific principles. However, the adequacy of laboratory procedures and the competence of the experts who testify should remain open to inquiry." The quality and reliability of forensic laboratories is only one of the many concerns about DNA fingerprinting. In addition to the question of its admissibility in court, there are many moral and ethical issues involved. First, there is the issue of whether DNA evidence prevents defendants from getting fair trials. Defense attorney Robert Brower believes unequivocally that DNA evidence does threaten the constitutional right to a fair trial. "In rape cases, when the semen has been matched with the defendant's and the chance that it came from another person is 33 billion to 1, you don't need a jury." Of course, the other side to this issue is that if DNA can provide conclusive evidence that a suspect committed a crime, some would say that it is an obstruction of justice and inherently unconstitutional not to present this evidence in court. Something else to consider is that few defendants have the resources available to them that O.J. Simpson had. Would another defendant have been able to refute the DNA evidence on grounds of negligence by the prosecution? The DNA experts that Simpson's defense team employed cost millions of

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dollars for their time. A person of lesser means might very well have been convicted by tainted evidence. The most contentious issue is the matter of how to calculate statistical probability, the odds that a match between DNA found at the crime scene and DNA taken from the suspect could be the result of coincidence. To find a match, crime labs look at several sites where the DNA is known to vary. If these sites match, there is an extremely high probability that the samples came from the same person. To quantify these findings, investigators calculate the frequency with which each variation occurs in the suspect's population group. The frequencies for each site are then multiplied together to arrive at a figure for the complete DNA profile. Therein lies the problemsome population geneticists maintain that the frequencies of genetic markers in population subgroups (based on race) could differ widely from the frequencies found in larger population groups. If this is so, then any estimates calculated using the widely accepted methods could be considerably off the mark. The question then arises- if someone is convicted using data determined in this way, is that fair? How accurate do the results have to be before they should be admitted in court? Proponents of this theory insist that extensive and expensive population studies must be completed before reliable estimates could be introduced into the courtroom, even if this takes a decade or more. In the meantime, how many felons will go free if the evidence is not allowed? There are no easy answers to these questions. While the debate ensues, a temporary solution is in place. DNA is admitted or excluded on a case-by-case basis, determined by the quality of the tests performed on the DNA samples and the circumstances of the case. DNA testing is not just an ethical, legal, or public policy issue; it is also a women's issue. Ninety percent of the victims of crimes involving DNA identification are committed against women. The tests are most useful in sex crimes, traditionally the toughest to solve and among the most under-reported. Only about half of the reported rapes result in arrests, and less then half of the men arrested are convicted. DNA has made it a lot harder for violent offenders to prey on women with impunity. The primary concern is privacy. DNA profiles are different from fingerprints, which are useful only for identification. DNA can provide insights into many intimate aspects of people and their families including susceptibility to particular diseases, legitimacy of birth, and perhaps
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predispositions to certain behaviors and sexual orientation. This information increases the potential for genetic discrimination by government, insurers, employers, schools, banks, and others. Collected samples are stored, and many state laws do not require the destruction of a DNA record or sample after a conviction has been overturned. So there is a chance that a person's entire genome may be available regardless of whether they were convicted or not. Although the DNA used is considered "junk DNA", single tandem repeated DNA bases (STRs), which are not known to code for proteins, in the future this information may be found to reveal personal information such as susceptibilities to disease and certain behaviors. Practicality is a concern for DNA sampling and storage. An enormous backlog of over half a million DNA samples waits to be entered into the CODIS system. The statute of limitations has expired in many cases in which the evidence would have been useful for conviction. Who is chosen for sampling also is a concern. In the United Kingdom, for example, all suspects can be forced to provide a DNA sample. Likewise, all arrestees --regardless of the degree of the charge and the possibility that they may not be convicted--can be compelled to comply. This empowers police officers, rather than judges and juries, to provide the state with intimate evidence that could lead to "investigative arrests." In the United States each state legislature independently decides whether DNA can be sampled from arrestees or convicts. In 2006, the New Mexico state legislature passed Katie's Bill, a law that requires the police to take DNA samples from suspects in most felony arrests. Previous New Mexico laws required DNA to be sampled only from convicted felons. The bill is named for Katie Sepich, whose 2003 murder went unsolved until her killer's DNA entered the database in 2005 when he was convinced of another felony. Her killer had been arrested, but not convicted, for burglary prior to 2005.

Opponents of the law assert that it infringes on the privacy and rights of the innocent. While Katies Law does allow cleared suspects to petition to have their DNA samples purged from the state database, the purging happens only after the arrest. Civil liberties advocates say that Katie's

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Bill still raises the question of Fourth Amendment violations against unreasonable search and seizure and stress that the law could be abused to justify arrests made on less than probable cause just to obtain DNA evidence. As of September 2007, all 50 states have laws that require convicted sex offenders to submit DNA, 44 states have laws that require convicted felons to submit DNA, 9 states require DNA samples from those convicted of certain misdemeanors, and 11 statesincluding Alaska, Arizona, California, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginiahave laws authorizing arrestee DNA sampling.

DNA TESTING IN INDIA:

At present, India does not have a national law that empowers the government to collect and store DNA profiles of convicts, but DNA collection and testing and is taking place in many states. For instance, in Pune the army is currently considering creating DNA profiles of troops who are involved in hazardous tasks in order to help identify bodies mutilated beyond recognition.

LEGAL ISSUES CONCERNED WITH DNA FINGERPRINTING:

1. Evidence Law. & DNA PROFILING: Sections 45 & 46 of Indian Evidence Act-1872, deal with expert opinion o evidences. The ingredients of section 45 and section 46 highlight that: The court when necessary will place its faith on skills of persons who have technical knowledge of the facts concerned. The court will rely on bonafide statement for proof given by the expert concluded on the basis of scientific techniques. The evidence considered irrelevant would be given relevance in the eyes of law if they are consistent with the opinion of experts.

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Thus, experts are routinely involved in administration of justice, more often in criminal justice system.

2. Cr. P.C. & DNA PROFILING: Though there is no specific DNA legislation enacted in India (DNA Bill- 2007 still hanging), Sec.53 and Sec. 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 provides for DNA tests implicitly and they are extensively used in determining complex criminal falacies. examination of the accused by medical practitioner at the request of police officer if there are reasonable grounds to believe that an examination of such person will provide evidences in relevence to the commission of the offence.

Sec. 54 of the Cr. P. C., 1973 further provides for the examination of the arrested person by the registered medical practitioner at the request of the arrested person.

3. DNA Profile & Human Rights: The DNA fingerprinting pioneer Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys condemned UK government plans to keep the genetic details of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in England and Wales for up to 12 years. Jeffreys said he was "disappointed" with the proposals, which came after a European court ruled that the current policy breaches people's right to privacy. He further said "It seems to be as about as minimal a response to the European court of human rights judgment as one could conceive. There is a presumption not of innocence but of future guilt here which I find very disturbing indeed"

DISADVANTAGES OF DNA FIGERPRINTING:

1. It requires further standardization and quality control, to be universally accepted as a tool. 2. There are only a few reliable labs around the world that can give accurate results. 3. There is also 1 in 50 billion chance of two DNA sequence being similar.
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CONCLUSION:

Thus, DNA fingerprinting is a very vital tool in criminal investigation process. It helps to identify the criminals and authenticate their conviction. However, this technique is subject is certain care and caution. Otherwise it would lead to injustice to innocent persons. Proper care and caution in collecting DNA samples should be taken and further their reliability should be duly established. Thus, DNA fingerprinting technique if used with proper care will result into justice to people as well as will be a boon to criminal justice system.

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REFERENCES

Howard Coleman and Eric Swenson, DNA in the Courtroom (Seattle:GeneLex Press, 1994), 30.

David F. Betsch, "DNA Fingerprinting in Human Health and Society," Genentech's Access Excellence, http://esg~www.mit.edu.8001/esgbio/rdna/fingerprint.html, (June 1994).

"DNA

Fingerprinting,"

Newton's

Apple,

http://ericir.sir.edu/projects/Newton/13/lessons/dna.html, (October 1994).

T. Burke, G. Dolf, A.J. Jeffreys, and R. Wolf, eds., DNA Fingerprinting: Approaches and Applications (Basel: Birkhauser Verlag, 1991), 1.

Alan M. Dershowitz, Reasonable Doubts (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996), 46. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~cbbc/courses/bio4/bio4-1997/KatieLachter.html http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/forensics.shtml#6 http://www.epw.in/web-exclusives/rethinking-dna-profiling-india.html http://www.epw.in/web-exclusives/rethinking-dna-profiling-india.html

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