BNSS Forwarding Form
Definition
The viscera-forwarding requisition that accompanies sealed bottles from the autopsy mortuary to the SFSL or CFSL. Successor to the CrPC-era Form 65 used under the old code, the present form under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 lists the deceased, the investigating officer, the suspected agents, the history and the seal numbers.
- Purpose
- Requisition accompanying sealed viscera to the forensic lab
- Predecessor
- CrPC-era Form 65
- Governing code
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023
- Typical destination
- State Forensic Science Laboratory or Central FSL
- Key fields
- Deceased details, investigating officer, suspected agent, seal numbers
Common questions
Why does the form need to record a suspected poisoning agent?+
Naming a suspected agent lets the toxicology lab target its screening, for example prioritising organophosphate or metal analysis, rather than running every possible assay. An unfounded or wrong suspicion recorded on the form can misdirect testing, so it is treated as a lead, not a constraint on the analysis performed.
What is the evidentiary function of the seal numbers on the form?+
The seal numbers create a documented link between the exhibit bottles sealed at autopsy and the same bottles received at the laboratory, supporting the chain of custody. A mismatch or missing seal number is a common ground on which defence counsel challenge the reliability of the viscera examined.
Related terms
- Chain of Custody
- The documented chronological record of who collected, handled, transferred, and examined a piece of evidence. For digital evidence, chain of custody includes...
- Post-Mortem Redistribution (PMR)
- The phenomenon where drug and poison concentrations shift between body compartments after death, generally moving out of solid organs back into the...
- Saturated NaCl
- Sodium chloride dissolved in distilled water to saturation, roughly 360 g/L at room temperature. The default preservative for solid viscera in Indian...
- Viscera
- The standard set of organs and fluids collected at a suspected poisoning autopsy in India: stomach with contents, a length of upper...
- Vitreous Humour
- The gel-filled interior of the eye, anatomically isolated from hepatic and gastric post-mortem redistribution sources. In forensic toxicology of hooch deaths, vitreous...
- Wide-Mouthed Bottle
- A glass jar with a mouth diameter wide enough to admit a whole stomach or a 200 g chunk of liver. Capacity...