Kochi: The move to appoint a medical board to review the conclusive post-mortem report of Sreejith, the victim of custodial torture at Varappuzha police station, may lead to legal ramifications as the panel will comprise doctorts who didn't see the body at first hand.
According to the Indian Evidence Act, the most conclusive proof in one's death is the post-mortem report and the direct statements of the doctor who conducted the autopsy.
The port-mortem of Sreejith was carried out, and the report was prepared clearly citing the reason for the death by a three-member team of doctors under the supervision of a senior forensic professor of the Alappuzha medical college.
The move to set up a medical board to review the post-mortem report is aimed at undermining the importance of the report in the court, say legal experts.
If one of the five doctors, who haven't examined the body of Sreejith, reports any doubts in the findings of the post-mortem report, it will be a potent weapon for the defence lawyer during the hearing of the case.
Earlier, in the death of Kalabhavan Mani, a medical board was set up to review the post-mortem report. Since the reason for death was not mentioned in Mani's post-mortem report, it did not become an issue.
In Sreejith's post-mortem report, the doctors have clearly mentioned the reason for death as the serious injuries that he suffered on his small intestine.
“The small intestine was on the verge of severing. It could have been caused by a forceful attack as with a kick. Subsequently, food particles got mixed with blood, leading to infection that spread to all organs,” the doctors said in the post-mortem report.
It is feared that the move to conduct a review of the post-mortem report that has conclusively mentioned the reason for the death could weaken the case.
What the law says
According the Section 80 of the Indian Evidence Act, the doctor who conducted the post-mortem needs to be examined in the court to establish the evidentiary value of post-mortem report. If the doctor is not alive, the court will accept the post-mortem report as the final evidence in the case. The Supreme Court had pointed out this in several of its judgments.