Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

Post-mortem rules need to be updated

Law does not permit conduct of post-mortem during nights. Forensic experts, however, feel that the norm needs to be changed, writes MARRI RAMU

IS CONDUCT of post-mortem during evenings or nights officially permitted? There is confusion over the issue.

As per the norms, conduct of post-mortem during night is not permitted. A people's representative in the past appealed to the Government to extend the hours of conducting autopsy beyond evening in the larger interest of people. It helps deal with emergency cases and ease the burden on the relatives of the victims who come from distant places to Osmania and Gandhi hospitals. The then Medical and Health Minister, S. Aruna, turned down the proposal stating that there was no such provision in the medical code. But it is interesting to note that forensic doctors conduct post- mortem in the evenings on some occasions.

Post-mortem was conducted on the body of a sub-inspector, Saidulu, who was killed in a landmine blast in 2001, during night at the Osmania General Hospital. In another case, doctors performed autopsy on the body of an electric shop owner, Osman, in the night four months ago at the OGH. Going by the rules, the post-mortem reports in these cases should not be valid.

Forensic doctors explained that the rules were framed long ago when the facility of bright lamps was not available. In the absence of electricity, it was thought that the body could be examined in detail only under sunlight. Hence, the rule of conducting autopsy before sunset was framed.

However, the availability of fluorescent lamps makes it possible to examine a dead body during nights with equal accuracy and precision. But, the rules remained unaltered. A forensic doctor observed that there was no scientific justification in the ban on conducting post-mortem during nights. Depending on the merits of the case and special requisition from the police, the doctors conduct post-mortem in the evenings now and then.

Though it is convenient both for the police and the victims' relatives to perform autopsy on the body beyond the regular working hours, the law in this regard needs to be changed first. This should be supplemented by providing adequate infrastructure like lighting, technical staff and number of forensic experts.

It is said that officials in the State are still following the Madras Medical Code, as the Andhra Pradesh Medical Code was yet to receive the assent from the authorities concerned. Changes can be introduced in the code by making provisions for conducting post-mortem during nights in exceptional cases. There is every possibility of misusing the provision if the conduct of autopsy round-the-clock is allowed without proper regulating mechanism.

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