According to Modi's "Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology" (12th ed.), the object of the post-mortem examination of a body is to establish its identity when not known, and to ascertain the time since death and the cause of death; natural or unnatural, homicidal, suicidal or accidental. Additionally, the question of live birth and viability has to be determined in case of the body of a newly-born infant.

Before commencing the examination, the medical officer should carefully read the inquest report on the appearance and situation of the body when it was first discovered, and the cause of death as far as could have been ascertained. This precaution is necessary, specially in the case of a decomposed body, so as to enable him/her to examine particularly the organ or the part of the body most suspected for the evidence of death.

The examination should be conducted in daylight, as far as possible. It should also be as thorough and complete as circumstances permit. The three great cavities and the organs contained in them should all be carefully examined, though the apparent cause of death has been found in one of them – just to avoid unnecessary, and sometimes unpleasant, cross-questions.

Ordinarily, a dead body is sent to the morgue; but in exceptional cases, the medical officer may be taken to the place where the dead body is lying. In that case, he/she should note the place and nature of the soil where he/she found the dead body, and also its position specially as regards the hands and feet and the state of the clothes, if any. In the case of death from violence, he/she should note the position of the body in reference to surrounding objects, such as sharp stones and the like, and also whether any blood stains were visible on such object or anywhere near the corpse, and whether any weapons were lying near it. The ground in the vicinity should be carefully searched for the presence of footprints and evidence of any struggle. In the case of suspected death from poisoning, the medical officer should note whether any appearance as of vomited matter, etc. was present in the neighbourhood of the body.

The medical officer holding a post-mortem examination should note the time of the arrival of the body at the morgue, the date and hour of the post-mortem examination and the name of the place where it was held. Necessary papers authorising the medial officer to hold an autopsy are frequently brought by the police long after the body has arrived. This dilatory method on the part of the police has occasionally led to the decomposition of body in the post-mortem room. It is, therefore, safer to note the exact time of delivery of these papers.

After completing the post-mortem examination, the medical officer should form an opinion as to the cause and manner of death, based on the appearances observed by him/her and should immediately give in the vernacular the abstract of his/her opinion to the police constable accompanying the body for communication to the investigating officer. If he/she has based his/her opinion on the post-mortem appearances, as well as on the statement of the police, he/she should mention the fact in the report. The report should be forwarded to the Superintendent of Police as soon as possible, but not later than two days.

Some medical officers labour under a mistaken belief that they should never be definite in their opinion as to the actual cause of death, and should, therefore, qualify their opinion by using the word, "probably". Modi's advice to medical officers is that they must never hesitate to give a definitive opinion whenever they can reasonably do so. But in those cases, where they are unable to find any cause of death, they must mention in the reports that they cannot come to any definitive conclusion. In such cases, it is advisable as a precautionary measure to preserve the necessary viscera for chemical analysis and pieces of brain, lungs, liver, spleen, etc. for microscopic and bacteriological examinations.

It is admitted on all hands that undue delay is often made in preparation of the autopsy report of the deceased, thereby hampering the quick investigation of the case. It is often seen that after the doctor concerned has prepared the autopsy report, he/she transmits the same to the Civil Surgeon or other senior Medical Officer for his/her counter-signature and the countersigning Medical Officer also takes some time in putting the signature on the report and in the process, a good deal of time is consumed. In my opinion, the counter-signature of the Superior Medical Officer is wholly unwarranted in view of the fact that the sole responsibility of holding the post-mortem examination lies with the doctor concerned. Thus, all quarters ought to give a serious thought to it.

So far as we know, there is only one Government Chemical Laboratory at Mohakhali, Dhaka for the purpose of chemical examination of the viscera of the deceased. Our experience shows that once the viscera is sent to the chemical examiner at Mohakhali for chemical analysis and opinion, the Investigating Officer does not receive the report from Mohakhali, albeit several months or even a year have elapsed by this time. This being the scenario, the doctor holding the autopsy cannot give his/her final opinion as to the cause of death of the deceased expeditiously. All-out efforts should be made to remove this snag.

In the course of the trial of a case, if it is seen that injuries found by the doctor during autopsy do not tally with those allegedly sustained by the deceased testified to by the witnesses, the accused will get the benefit of doubt resulting his acquittal. Therefore,the doctor holding the post-mortem examination should be on his/her guard in making the report truly, objectively and free from any extraneous influence.

In our country, in almost all cases, the post-mortem examinations are carried out by male doctors only. Lately, people have raised their voice against the practice of holding autopsy of a deceased female by a male doctor. In order to ward off unnecessary controversies, the Government may look into the matter and make provisions for holding of post-mortem examinations of deceased females by female doctors only.

Where the dead bodies are traced out and post-mortem examinations are held thereon, the importance of post-mortem examination reports cannot be shrugged off in the least. In the administration of criminal justice specially in cases involving murders and culpable homicides, autopsy reports are corroborative pieces of evidence acting as an aid to the trial Court Judges in coming to correct decisions.

The writer is a former Judge of the High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh.