Increasing Interdisciplinary Influences on the Indian Criminal Justice: With a Focus on Criminal Justice and Forensic Science Interface

The modernization of criminal justice is the outcome of multiple influences coming from sister disciplines like criminology, victimology, and forensic science. The colonial criminal justice did not require much legitimization from other social sciences, because it drew all its power from the imperial supremacy. However, in the 1950s, which also marks the end of the colonial rule, two developments had started impinging upon the criminal justice: First, the United Nations’ rise on the scene that had infused scientific and modern thinking in crime prevention and treatment matters. Second, the subjection of the criminal justice and its processes to the constitutional and human rights touchstone, which demanded compliance with fairness and justice standards. While the first development was responsible for imparting new legitimacy to the criminology and forensic science ideas and methods, the second development ensured the fairness of the criminal justice outcomes. With the post-1950s resurgence of scientific criminology and forensic science in the Universities in the North and the South, the traditional basis for the legitimization of the criminal justice experienced change. However, the change emanating in the area of forensic science became more profound, because of its better sync with the science and technology orientation. This is the main reason for certain significant recent legislative initiatives culminating in the enactment of the BNSS and the BSA 2023. Furthermore, there is yet another development that is likely to alter the chemistry of the interface itself, which, in the context of the British Criminal Justice has been described by Lucia Zedner as ‘From Criminal Justice to Security Society’ discussed here in Part VI. A similar ‘alternate rationalization of crime and re-orientation of criminal justice to pre-crime stages’ appears to be gaining popularity in India as well. Thus, the normative legitimization and infusion of forensic science, on the one hand, and its extensions to new pre-crime stages, on the other, are likely to alter the balance of the criminal justice and forensic science interface in the future.