GEQD
Definition
Government Examiner of Questioned Documents: the central body for document examination with offices at Shimla and Hyderabad, examining handwriting, ink, paper, and forgeries in referred cases.
- Primary function
- Central examination of questioned documents including handwriting, signatures, ink, paper, and forgeries
- Office locations
- Shimla (established 1904), Hyderabad, Kolkata
- Case type
- Central-agency (federal) referred cases
Common questions
What does GEQD do?+
GEQD (Government Examiner of Questioned Documents) is the central body in India that examines questioned documents for federal agencies. They analyze handwriting, signatures, ink, paper, and forgeries in cases referred to them.
Where are GEQD's offices located?+
GEQD operates three regional offices. The oldest is in Shimla, established in 1904. The other two offices are in Hyderabad and Kolkata, allowing them to serve cases across different regions.
When should a case be referred to GEQD?+
Cases involving questioned documents at the national level are referred to GEQD. This includes matters needing expert analysis of handwriting, signatures, document forgeries, ink composition, and paper authenticity.
Related terms
- CFSL
- Central Forensic Science Laboratory: a central government lab operating under DFSS. India has CFSLs at New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Pune, Guwahati,...
- DFSS
- Directorate of Forensic Science Services, India; issues the Forensic Laboratory Manual that governs glass and soil examination procedures, including the bromoform-based density...
- NICFS
- National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science: India's central forensic training institute in New Delhi, running courses for forensic scientists, police, and...
- SFSL
- State Forensic Science Laboratory: a state-government lab that processes the bulk of routine casework from state and district police. Quality and capacity...
- BNSS 2023
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, the statute that replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure. It introduced a mandatory forensic-scene-visit requirement for offences...
- BPR&D
- Bureau of Police Research and Development. MHA body for police modernisation, training standards, and forensic-equipment specifications.
- CCTNS
- Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems. Pan-India platform for FIR registration and inter-state crime data, rollout from 2009 under NCRB.
- FIR
- First Information Report under Section 173 BNSS 2023 (formerly Section 154 CrPC). Trigger document that feeds into CCTNS and downstream forensic referral.
- MHA
- Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Parent ministry for DFSS, CFSLs (excluding CBI-administered CFSL Delhi), NCRB, BPR&D and NFSU.
- NCRB
- National Crime Records Bureau. MHA body established 1986; runs CCTNS, publishes the Crime in India report, and operates CFPB and NAFIS.
- NFSU
- National Forensic Sciences University. Headquartered at Gandhinagar, with campuses spreading across India. Statutory university status since 2020; trains the bulk of new...
- RFSL
- Regional Forensic Science Laboratory. Sub-state, district or zonal level. Absorbs the SFSL's overflow and handles district-court matters.
Explained in these topics
- The Indian Forensic Setup: CFSL, SFSL, DFSS, NICFSGovernment Examiner of Questioned Documents: the central body for document examination with offices at Shimla and Hyderabad, examining handwriting, ink, paper,...
- Organisation of FSLs, NCRB and NICFSGovernment Examiner of Questioned Documents. Three offices at Shimla (1904), Hyderabad and Kolkata for handwriting, signature and document examination of centr...