Punjab and Haryana High Court orders states to boost forensic facilities
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Haryana to take immediate steps to strengthen forensic facilities to speed up drug case investigations and avoid delays caused by inadequate resources.
In a bid to expedite and bolster forensic examination processes, the bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma directed the two states to expedite the completion of recruitment, equipment procurement and installation processes at their forensic science laboratories and regional forensic science laboratories (RFSLs).
The direction came as the division bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma observed essential forensic infrastructure and advanced technology was not being fully utilised despite repeated assurances, stalling critical examination of evidence in the NDPS cases and adversely affecting case outcomes.
The court asserted that forensic laboratories across Punjab, including the primary FSL in Mohali and regional facilities in Bathinda, Amritsar, and Ludhiana, were required to immediately install advanced testing equipment. These included the gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry system, essential for analysing NDPS substances, and other sophisticated apparatuses such as the audio voice identification and automated ballistics identification systems. These systems, the court asserted, were crucial to ensure prompt and effective testing, preventing any degradation of seized substances in storage, and facilitating timely judicial processes.
Referring to the delay in fulfilment of its pledges by Punjab, the bench observed the state had indicated the grant of financial sanctions for purchasing equipment, along with other advanced testing machinery. But the assurance was yet to materialise into functioning facilities.
The court observed an affidavit submitted by Punjab reflected the approval of technical specifications for cyber forensic tools under Nirbhaya Fund. Yet completion of financial procedures for the acquisition remained pending. The court asserted that the relevant processes were required to be fully operational at the earliest and asked Punjab Chief Secretary to confirm installation through an affidavit. The state of Haryana was also instructed to ensure implementation of state-of-the-art forensic capabilities for its FSLs, coupled with sufficient staff to handle high-volume dockets.
In its detailed order, the court directed the Chief Secretaries of both the states to certify that recruitment efforts were finalised and personnel deployed across all relevant FSL/RFSL centres. The bench also mandated the establishment of regional FSLs at the district level to accommodate rising case backlogs.
Before parting with the order, the court asked the Union Territory of Chandigarh, in addition to the two states, to establish standard operating procedures (SOPs) for swift submission, testing, and return of incriminating evidence to the courts. The SOPs, aimed at protecting the integrity of evidence during handling, required re-sealing by forensic experts before items were transferred back to authorities. The bench also directed that a dedicated steering-committee, comprising senior police officers, should oversee the SOP implementation for ensuring that procedures for evidence handling and cold storage aligned with operational protocols.
