GUWAHATI, June 18 - The Gauhati High Court has taken strong exception to the backlog in investigation of nearly one lakh criminal cases and directed the Advocate General of Assam to take appropriate measures to tide over the problem; especially those related to forensic as well the post-mortem reports.
The Directorate of the Forensic Science Laboratory and the health department have been asked to improve their response time regarding submission of forensic and autopsy reports respectively.
In a recent meeting, Advocate General Ramesh Chandra Barpatragohain has asked top officials of the Assam Police, Forensic Science Laboratory and the health department to explain their positions on pending cases.
�The idea is to expedite the process of trial and deliver justice at the quickest possible time. The Court wants all the stakeholders to act in tandem, be it the forensic science laboratory or the health department, which issues post-mortem reports or for that matter any other agencies,� official sources told The Assam Tribune.
A senior Assam Police official said that the number of pending cases have come down considerably from what it used to be a couple of years back. �The cases are pending because the relevant reports, be it from the forensic lab, health department (autopsy) or even the transport department, take a long time to arrive and hence it causes delay in filing of charge-sheets,� the official said.
However, the Director of Forensic rubbished the claim stating that only about 500 cases are currently pending with the forensic lab. �Despite some limitations, we are trying our best to dispose of the pending cases at the earliest,� sources said.
Similarly, a senior health department official said that the filing of post mortem reports is a continuous process and the status will be reviewed very soon. �However, as far as the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital is concerned, the rate of pendency isn�t not too high,� he added.
