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TMI Blog2010 (1) TMI 1294X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... before the learned Judicial Magistrate seeking to forward the cheques in question for examination by the Director of Forensic Science, Chennai to express opinion regarding the age of the writings as well as the signatures found on the cheques. The learned Magistrate concerned allowed both the petitions. Aggrieved over the same, the petitioner, who is the complainant in those cases, is before this Court with these revisions. 3. It is contended by the learned Counsel for the petitioner that the lower Court has allowed the petitions without having regard to the fact that there is no scientific method available in this State with the Director of Forensic Science to scientifically test and find out the exact age of any writings or signatures. H ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by an expert in this regard. Therefore, according to the learned Counsel, the lower Court was right in directing the documents to be forwarded for comparison by an expert for opinion. 5. I have considered the rival submissions. 6. There can be no denial of the fact that the accused needs to be afforded a fair trial to exhaust all his defences available to him. Fair trial is the sine qua non of criminal jurisprudence and the same has been recognised as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. To prove that the handwriting was not made by him or that the signature was not made by him, the accused can very well request the Court to forward the document for expert opinion. But the question is, in respect of the age o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rt that there is no scientific method available anywhere in this State, more particularly, in the Forensic Science Department, to scientifically assess the age of any writing and to offer opinion. However, he would submit that there is one institution known as Neutron Activation Analysis, BARC, Mumbai, where there is facility to find out the approximate range of the time during which the writings would have been made. It is a Central Government organisation. According to him, even such opinion cannot be exact. He would further submit that since it is a Central Government Organisation and confined only to atomic research, the documents relating to prosecutions and other litigations cannot be sent to that institution also for the purpose of o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t the age of the writings. 10. Now I have to consider the judgments relied on by the learned Counsel on either side. In T. Nagappa's case reported in (2008) 5 Supreme Court Cases page 633 : AIR 2008 SC 2010, I have to state that the question whether the age of the writings could be scientifically examined and any opinion in this regard could be offered never came up for consideration before the Hon'ble Supreme Court. In that case, the Hon'ble Supreme Court was concerned with the right of the accused to have fair trial so as to send the document for comparison by an expert. It was never argued before the Hon'ble Supreme Court that there are no experts available to examine the age. Therefore, the judgment of the Hon'ble S ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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