Admissibility of DNA and Forensic Evidence in Criminal Cases

“Punishment is not for revenge, but to lessen crime and reform the criminal”
~ Elizabeth Fry
India is a country having a very much diverse population and vivid culture. The socio-economic culture of our country is very diverse and people of our country belong to all kinds of groups, backgrounds, culture, community, religion, etc. Naturally, the people of the country and everyone residing in the country, all have a very different economic and educational background. The illiteracy rate of our country ranges between 15-20%. The poverty rate in the country is about 28%. These factors play a majority role in giving birth to crime against women such as murders, sexual assault, rape, molestation, and crime against property such as theft, snatching, fraud, etc. As per the latest data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the crime rate in country is 3.08%. With growing time, the crime rate is also increasing. Our government time to time brings changes in the policy and schemes for the over-all development of the society. But it is a long process and till the time, crime rate is decreased substantially, the criminal justice system has to become robust and smooth in order to convict the guilty. In our country, criminal justice system is dealt under laws such as Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act. Indian Penal Code is the substantive law while, Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Evidence Act deal with the procedural aspect. One aspect of the procedural law is the collection and admission of evidence to solve criminal cases. In this context, the new age technology has opened ways for the admission of Forensic and DNA Test in the criminal cases. In this research article, we will discuss the advent of Forensic Evidence, the laws related to the admission of forensic evidence and various conflicts that come along with the admission of forensic evidence.