Medical Jurisprudence And Toxicology

CLOTHES AND ORNAIMEXTS 57

13. CLOTHES AND ORNAMENTS

These do not form any essential piece of evidence in the identification of
a living person as the individual can change them at will, but they are very
valuable in establishing the identification of a dead body. It is, therefore,
necessary to preserve them along with any articles, such as a watch, visiting
card, diary* etc. found on a dead body or lying in its vicinity for the purpose
of future identification. The clothes should be examined carefully for the
presence of the name of the owner or tailor or the mark of a dhobi (washer-
man) on any of them. In the Kakori conspiracy case one of the accused
was identified by means of a bed-sheet found in Jiis possession, as it had the
marks of the dhobi employed in a hotel in Lucknow where he was alleged
to have stayed for some time. The clothes should also be examined for
the presence of cuts or rents or for the presence of blood, seminal or other
stains. If dust of organic or mineral matter is found clinging to the clothes
or in the pockets, it should be collected and submitted to microscopic
examination, as it might give some indication of the business of the person.

14. SPEECH AND VOICE

There are certain peculiarities of speech, e.g. stammering, stuttering,
lisping, and nasal twang. These peculiarities become more evident when
an individual is talking excitedly, ss in a quarrel. Speech is also affected
in nervous diseases, such as general paralysis of the insane and disseminated
sclerosis. Defective speech depending on some organic defect of the mouth,
such as cleft-palate, may be cured by a surgical plastic operation, while
functional stammering can be cured without any operation.

To recognize a person from his voice is an everyday occurrence, though
it is too risky to be relied upon in criminal cases. In the case of King-
Emperor v. Bhaktu 6T it was held that the identification of the accused in
a pitch dark night by the modulation of his voice could not be relied upon
for his conviction. It is possible for a person to alter his voice at will. The
best example of this is the ventriloquist. The absence of the teeth, the use
of false teeth, and the presence of diphtheria may alter the voice. With
the progress of science it may be presumed that the registering of the voice
by a gramophone disc will be used in the near future for the purpose of
identification in court. Sayad Kasim Razvi, who was accused of murder
and tried by the Special Tribunal at Secunderabad, requested the presiding
judge for facilities of a gramophone to play a record, which he was expecting
from Pakistan, as defence evidence. The accused stated that he would
make two witnesses to listen to the record before putting them in the wit-
ness box. The judge agreed to provide all facilities, provided the record
reached him in time.08

15. GAIT

An individual can be recognized even from a distance by watching his
gait, but such evidence is far from conclusive, inasmuch as the gait may be
altered by an accident or disease, especially of a nervous nature, such as
locomotor ataxy, hemiplegia, spastic paraplegia, etc. In civil suits the medi-
cal man may sometimes be requested to express his opinion if a particular
individual is really lame or malingering, if he has filed a suit against his
employer for the recovery of damages for an accident caused to him during
his legitimate work.

67. Lahore High Court; 29 Crim. Law Jour., January 1928, p. 759 ,* Rangoon High
Court; 39 CHm. Law Jour., January 1938, p. 34.

68. Times of India, June 20, 19503 p. 3.