COURSE MANUAL

Forensic Science

Course Instructor
Poulomi Bhadra

SEMESTER B: 2017
February - May
COURSE DETAILS

Course Title: Forensic Science

Course Code: FS005

Course Duration: One Semester

No. of Credit Units: 4 credits

Level: B.B.A. LL.B., B.A. LL.B.,M.A.

Medium of Instruction: English

Grading of Student Achievement

To pass this course, students must obtain at least of 50% of the marks assigned for
the coursework.

Coursework includes:
1) any marks allocated by faculty member for assignments, case studies, class
participation, moot courts and other similar activities for a maximum of 70
marks (internal assessment)
2) A written assessment which will be of at least 30 marks (end semester exam).

Internal assessment will be divided as follows:

a) Analysis of court testimony and evidence integrity (40%)
b) Research article short, well-researched article on any forensically relevant
topic (30%)
INTERNAL ASSESSMENTS
Research Article (30 marks)
By the end of September, you are requested to submit a researched article based
on any relevant topic that includes forensics in legal or criminological context. Please
read the plagiarism section of the manual carefully and adhere strictly to the
guidelines. Any discrepancy will be subjected to the discretion of the instructor.
Citations will only be accepted for facts that might need to be verified from source,
please do not use citations as a means to copy chunks of information, unless it is a
direct quote. Please defer from quoting more than 50 words directly, unless
permitted.
The minimum length of the article should be 3 pages in the font specification Times
New Roman, 12. Students are encourage to write in simple and correct English, and
in a manner that will help a layman in understanding the content, especially the
forensically relevant one. It is recommended that you discuss the topic with the
instructor to prevent repetition between classmates or divergence from forensic
topics, and for adequate guidance in how to explore the topic.

CRITERIA DESCRIPTION MARKS

Well informed and well discussed research
Originality efforts combined with individual 5
inference/conclusion/opinion
The accuracy of facts, extent of research and
Forensics 10
logic of discussions
Correctness of English language (spelling,
English 7
grammar etc.), flow of the writing
Ability to convey complex content simply
Clarity 8
and concisely
Crime scene investigation and court testimony (40 marks)
During the last three weeks of the course, each group will be given a case scenario,
according to which they will divide themselves into the following crime scene
investigators/ forensic scientists and prosecution/defence lawyers. Each student will
have to play one role as a forensic personnel and one role as a lawyer.

In the first week, the students will be presented with a mock crime scene where they
will have to collect evidence, package & forward them and write witness reports as
crime scene investigators. For this task, the class will be divided into groups and each
group will act as an independent crime scene investigation teams. They are required
to follow protocol until handing over to the state forensic laboratory.
Assessment criteria: Clearly identifying the important evidences, recognizing the
crime scene limits, precautions, search methods. Understanding the procedures of
collection and abiding by it. Correct packaging, forwarding, documenting of scene
and evidence.

The following week, the students will prepare expert reports on the analysis of the
individual evidences and submit them to the senior investigating officer. The IO or
SIO will respectively prepare the necessary case file for court trial.
Assessment criteria: Analysis (where possible) and forming an expert opinion report.
Prepared to appear in court in the capacity.

In the next week, the students will be part of a moot court where each group will
first have the opportunity to analyze and assess the evidence packaging, witness
reports and integrity of custody chain of another group. Based on this information,
both parties can dispute and defend the admissibility of the evidence and reports in
court.
Assessment criteria: Adherence to court etiquettes, method of approach and
questioning skills, language, logic.

The aim of the moot court exercise is for all students to show the ability to critically
analyze and challenge the integrity of forensic evidence presented in court based
upon how integrity of evidence, chain of custody and accurate reporting from the
crime scene was maintained. It is not necessary that the winning team members will
score the most, however that is more probable.
End Semester Exam (30 marks)
A written test consisting of two sections - objective answers in Section 1 and
subjective hypothetical studies in Section 2. Section 1 will be worth 20 marks, and
section 2 will be worth 10 marks. Time given to answer the entire paper is only one
and a half hour. It will be a closed book exam. Any supplements needed will be
provided with the question paper.

Plagiarism
No student shall represent the work of another person as his own in any academic assignment,
thesis or project even if the material so represented constitutes only a part of the work
submitted. Copying of text from other students (unless in group activities) or from other sources
(for instance the study guide, prescribed material or directly from the internet) will entail
plagiarism. Reproduction of ones own work submitted for other assignments is not acceptable.

If the assignment necessitates the inclusion of other peoples works, it must be clearly indicated
and appropriate references supplied within and/or at the end of the text. No more than 50 words
can be copied verbatim from a source and with appropriate references. As far as possible, try to
rephrase the text in your own words without repeating the original author to the letter. Content
from other sources are only permissible as supporting points and cannot form the sole core of the
work, unless agreed to by the instructor. The aim of the assignments is not the reproduction of
existing material, but to ascertain whether you have the ability to integrate existing texts, add your
own interpretation and/or critique of the texts and offer a creative solution to existing problems.

No student shall contribute any work to another student (unless otherwise instructed) if s/he
knows or should know that the latter may submit the work in part or whole as his own. Receipt of
payment in whatever form of work contributed shall raise a presumption that the student had
such knowledge.

Any student found to have committed or aided and abetted the offence of plagiarism may be
subject to the following penalties depending on the severity of his involvement in the offence.
a) The student shall receive no mark for the relevant academic assignment, thesis or project;
b) The student shall fail the subject, course or programme of study, with or without a mark
given for that subject, course or programme of study; and
c) The student shall be treated as having committed a disciplinary offence.

Consultation with instructor

The course instructor will be available to speak individually with students from 10:30
am till 4:00 pm throughout the working week, outside class hours.
 SYLLABUS TIMETABLE

The following program is intended to be only a guide and is subject to variation as

and when circumstances may render it necessary:

Week Topic Particulars

1-2 Principles of crime scene investigation,
Crime scene investigation - 1
(3 classes) examination of evidence, collection protocol

Preservation and packaging of evidence,

2-3 Crime scene investigation - 2 chain of custody, expert witness report and
(3 classes)
court room testimony

Individuality of fingerprints; friction ridge

4-5 patterns; latent fingerprinting; basis of
Fingerprint analysis
(3 classes) comparison; poroscopy; identification of
fingerprints; palm prints

5-6 Body fluid examination Detection and analysis of body fluids;

(3 classes) packaging of body fluid evidence
Structure of DNA, source and uniqueness of
DNA; DNA markers; DNA profiling
technique; likelihood ratio; matching
DNA profiling
7-9 profiles; mitochondrial DNA; sex
Maternity and paternity
(6 classes) chromosomes; sample collection ethics
testing
Assessment 1: Research Article
(30 marks)
Submission deadline: 30th March
Drugs of abuse (natural and synthetic
drugs), suicidal drugs (prescription,
10 Narcotics and alcohol household chemicals, natural poisons);
(2 classes) alcohol analysis, poisons and venoms; metal
poisoning; food and other kinds of
adulterations; analysis of the above
Week Topic Particulars

11 Way to question scientific reports, purview

Questioning scientists
(2 classes) of inquiry

Crime Scene Investigation

Assessment 2: CSI Moot Court
(40 marks)
12-14 CSI: 23rd April onwards
(6 classes) FA: 1st March onwards
Court Trials Moot court: 7th April onwards

15 Revision
(2 classes)