The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Chandigarh administration to inform as to how much time would be required by the central forensic science laboratory, Sector 36, to submit forensic reports if Punjab and Haryana authorities analyse their samples on their own.
The directions came from the division bench comprising chief justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and justice Ajay Tewari on Friday. The orders came when in an ongoing case Prerna Puri, additional secretary of home department, Chandigarh, informed the court that due to work pressure from the neighbouring states delay was caused in obtaining forensic reports from the laboratory.
The officer submitted that on an average it took five to six months’ time in preparation and finalisation of the forensic report from the laboratory. According to the data submitted by Puri, the laboratory in some cases even took more than an year’s time to submit its report.
Puri also advocated the need for improvement of infrastructure in the laboratory to cater to the requirements of Chandigarh administration in cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The high court had taken suo motu notice of lack of sufficient forensic science laboratories in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh because of which undertrials under the NDPS Act were languishing for years in jails. The case will now come up for hearing on July 16
The high court had taken suo motu notice of lack of sufficient forensic science laboratories in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh because of which undertrials under the NDPS Act were languishing for years in jails. The case will now come up for hearing on July 16