Salman verdict boosts conviction in state forensics lab

The Sessions court verdict in Salman Khanrsquos hitandrun case has brought cheer to scientists at the staterun Forensic Science Laboratory FSL in Kalina who feel vindicated by the conviction especially since the trial had brought to light that the lab was not accreditedThe court found that Salman Khan had indeed been driving under influence basing its judgment on the chemical analyser findings from the forensic lab in Kalina along with other witness statements Representation picThinkstockThe court admitted the prosecutionrsquos case that Salman was indeed driving the vehicle while drunk while basing its judgment on the chemical analyser findings from the lab along with other witness statementsDuring the trial it was revealed that the State Forensic Science Laboratory SFSL is not certified by either International Organisation for Standardisation ISO or the National Board of Accreditation NAB a point that the defence had used to imply that the labrsquos findings might not be up to markSpeaking to midday soon after the verdict SFSL director Dr M K Malve said ldquoThe verdict in todayrsquos case has made us feel happy In forensics we always believe in a saying mdash a person can lie but scientific reports cannot lierdquolsquoIn the processrsquoMalve admitted that the SFSLrsquos accreditation was still pending adding ldquoWe are in the process of obtaining IEC 17025 accreditation ISO and are hopeful to receive the same within next few monthsrdquoWhen midday asked whether SFSL began the accreditation process only after the Salmanrsquos defence lawyer pointed out the lack Malve replied in the negative claiming they had started the process two years ago but could not follow up due to a heavy backlog of casesAccording to him there are very few forensic laboratories in the country that are accredited but the lack of accreditation does not mean that scientific findings by the laboratory are not as per international norms or standardsProsecution speakThis point was echoed by Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat who represented the state in the Salman Khan case ldquoNonaccreditation of the SFSL is a technical point it does not mean that the scientific evidence collected and examined in the laboratory are suspiciousThe SFSL is a state governmentrun laboratory that has qualified trained technical staff to carry out such forensic process to extract the truth submit the findings and even testify before the court during trialrdquo he said adding further ldquoIf scientific evidence were to be produced only from accredited institutes then all those who have been convicted on the basis of SFSL reports since independence would stand to be acquittedrdquoHowever according to State Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian not having such certification can often hamper a case ldquoScientific evidence is usually the best evidence while presenting the prosecutionrsquos case during trial However nonavailability of accreditation may derail the trial process as the defence can easily puncture holes into the scientific reports presented by FSLrdquo she explainedLab falling shortThe SFSL gets a budgetary provision of about R60 crore from the state and the police department of which a major chunk goes towards paying salaries SFSL which runs six centres all over the state is likely to add two more at Kolhapur and Nanded in a few months But it is currently short on staff with nearly 200 vacant posts from the sanctioned strength of 1031 personnel across Maharashtra