some medicolegal considerations

8/13/2019 Some Medicolegal Considerations

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SOME MEDICOLEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

Anil Aggrawal

Department of Forensic MedicineMaulana Azad Medical College

New Delhi-110002

India

Age estimation in the living is one of the most important tasks of a forensic

practitioner especially in developing countries where birth records are often not well-

maintained. Despite the fact that there are a number of laws requiring registration of

births (e.g Registration of Births and Deaths Act in ndia ! most births are not

properly recorded. "e get a number of cases every day for estimation of age in

living individuals in various situations# both criminal and civil. $et us have a glimpse

into a few such situations. Ciil Cases

%he minimum legal age for marriage in ndia is &' years for boys and ' years for

girls. "hen a boy and girl want to marry in a court of law (this usually happens

when they have eloped and want to marry against the wishes of their parents!# the

court official demands an age certificate from both of them. n case of non-

production of this certificate# the court may refer the case to an age clinic (as is

regularly run by the )orensic *edicine department of the *aulana A+ad *edical

,ollege# ew Delhi# ndia! for estimation of age. Criminal cases

%he legal age of consent by a girl for seual intercourse according to ndian law is '/years. f a boy and a girl have eloped and have had intercourse willingly# the boy

may still be prosecuted for rape# if the girl happens to be below '/ years of age. f

the girl were above '/ years# it is not infrequent in such cases for the girl0s parents

to destroy her birth certificate (even if it were there!# and claim their daughter0s age

to be below '/ years. %his is done with a view to have revenge from the boy who

instigated their daughter to run away from home. n such cases too# the police

refers the case to the doctor for estimation of age.Ages of Medicolegal

importance

)ollowing ages are usually relevant in various medicolegal situations1

Medicolegal importance of 1 !ear of age

'. According to 2outh ,arolina 3s child passenger restraint law# ,hildren from

birth to ' year old# or who weigh less than &4 pounds# must be secured in a

rear-facing child safety seat. (http155www.buckleupsc.com5cps5laws.htm!.
http://www.buckleupsc.com/cps/laws.htmhttp://www.buckleupsc.com/cps/laws.htm


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"ashington state also has a similar law

(http155depts.washington.edu5booster5anton6skeen6bill.html!. 2imilar laws

eist in several other nations

(http155www.ideamerge.com5leasing5childseat.html!

&. n some countries# such as ,anada# taly# the 7nited 8ingdom and Australia #murder of a child less than one year of age by its own mother is not

considered homicide. nstead# the mother is charged with a lesser offence of

infanticide for which the punishment is lesser. %his is because such murders

could be due to post-partum depression# or 0baby-blues0 9supposed to be due

to the effects of lactation and other aspects of post-natal care:.

(http155en.wikipedia.org5wiki5*urder!

Medicolegal importance of 2 !ears of age

'. According to the ,ode of *aryland# in certain cases of alimony# a

determination of potential income may not be made for a parent who is

caring for a child under the age of & years for whom the parents are ;ointly

and severally responsible. ()or details

visithttp155www.dhr.state.md.us5csea5help.htm!

Medicolegal importance of " !ears of age

'. According to the 78 law# if a child under < years old is carried in the front

seat of a car# an appropriate child restraint *72% be used (the adult seat beltis not sufficient!. ,hildren under < years old may not travel in the front

unless they are in a child restraint. f carried in the rear seat# an appropriate

child restraint *72% be used# ) A=A$AB$>. f an appropriate restraint is

fitted in the front of the car# but not the rear# children under < years old

*72% sit in the front and use that restraint. Remember# you could move the

restraint from the front to the rear if you wish. Rearward-facing seats are

designed to be used in the rear as well as the front. ?ou should always put a

rearward-facing baby seat in the rear if is a front passenger airbag fitted.

(http155www.childcarseats.org.uk5law5inde.htm!

Medicolegal importance of # !ears of age

'. 7nder @ennsylvania law# children under years of age are required to use a

child restraint device. onuse is a primary offense. ,hildren to under

years of age are required to use a booster seat. t is a secondary offense. %he

fine is a sliding fine up to '44.44.
http://depts.washington.edu/booster/anton_skeen_bill.htmlhttp://depts.washington.edu/booster/anton_skeen_bill.htmlhttp://www.ideamerge.com/leasing/childseat.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murderhttp://www.dhr.state.md.us/csea/help.htmhttp://www.childcarseats.org.uk/law/index.htmhttp://depts.washington.edu/booster/anton_skeen_bill.htmlhttp://www.ideamerge.com/leasing/childseat.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murderhttp://www.dhr.state.md.us/csea/help.htmhttp://www.childcarseats.org.uk/law/index.htm


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(http155www.psp.state.pa.us5psp5cwp5view.aspCA


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'. According to the #$#% *actory "ct of +, # no child under H could work in

factories. ,hildren from H to '/ were allowed to work a maimum of K& hours

per week with one and a half hours a day for meals. %his age was however

later reduced to years by the #$-- raham/s *actory "ct.

(http155www.historylearningsite.co.uk5law.htm!


'. According to 2ection stablishments Act 'H# no child who has not

completed '& years shall be employed in these establishments.

G. According to 2ection


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law# many marriages of young girls are going on in ndia # and section


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is not allowed to employ children under the age of ' years# in the premises

in which foreign liquor or country spirit is consumed by the public.

. 7nder section


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sentence for some offence# can not be kept in a ;ail. Ie has to be confined in

a ,hildren0s Iome.

ngland 0s %attooing of *inors Act 'H/H# tattooing of persons

under the age of '/ has been made illegal since 'H/H.

. According to 2ection


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@rovided that no person below the age of siteen years shall be allowed carry

and firearm requiring a licence# in a public place# ecept in the immediate

presence and supervision of the person who is lawfully entitled to carry such

firearm.

(http155www.abhi;eetsingh.com5arms5india5laws5rules5rule6'G6&.html!.'


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certificate of fitness is granted.


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immoral purpose# shall be punished with imprisonment of either description

for a term which may etend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.

H. According to ndian )actories Act 'H# MAdultM is a person who has

completed his 'th year. A person less than '# but more than 'G years of

age is adolescent.'4.According to section


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eighteen years. According to 2ection &(cb! of the same Act# a MminorM means

a person who has completed the age of siteen years but has not completed

the age of eighteen years.

(http155socialwelfare.delhigovt.nic.in5immoraltraffact'.htm!

Figure 2) Diagram showing the fusion of arious parts of sternum clic, to

enlarge

Medicolegal importance of 1( !ears of age

'. 7nder the *aine law# a court order requiring the payment of child support (in

cases where payments are made by one parent to the other following

disputes between them! remains in force as to each child until the order is

altered by the court or until that child attains 'H years of age. (%he actual law

is somewhat more comple than this. @lease

seehttp155;anus.state.me.us5$>J252%A%7%>25'H-A5title'H-Asec'/G


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than eighteen years of age would stay in the after-care organi+ation till he

attains the age of twenty years.

(http155www.helplinelaw.com5bareact5inde.phpCdsp;uvenile-;ustice!


'. 7nder section G (iii! of Iindu *arriage Act 'HGG# the age for marriage for a

boy is &' years. f a boy marries before this age# the punishment is

prescribed in section ' (a! of the same act. t is simple imprisonment which

may etend to 'G days# or fine which may etend to '444 Rs# or with both.

%he marriage is not dissolved.

&. 7nder section


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Figure ") -ra! elis and femur in a two and a half !ear old male Clic, to

enlarge)

Medicolegal importance of 2$ !ears of age

'. According to Article (b! of The Constitution of India# minimum age for

contesting for the membership of @arliament is &G years.

&. According to Article 'K< (b! of The Constitution of India# minimum age for

contesting for the membership of any 2tate $egislative Assembly is &G years.

cise Act 'H'# a person below this age can not buy

and consume liquor.

Medicolegal importance of "0 !ears of age

'. According to Article (b! of The Constitution of India# this is the minimum

age for election to the ,ouncil of 2tates (Ra;ya 2abha!.

&. According to Article 'K< (b! of The Constitution of India# this is the minimum

age for election to the 2tate $egislative ,ouncil.

Medicolegal importance of "$ !ears of age

'. According to Article G ('! (b! of The Constitution of India# this is the

minimum age for appointment as the @resident of ndia.

&. According to Article // (

minimum age for appointment as the =ice-@resident of ndia.

technique shall be used or conducted unless the age of the woman is above


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Figure #) -ra! pelis and femur in a fourteen and a half !ear old male

Clic, to enlarge)

Medicolegal importance of %$ !ears of age

'. According to 2ection '4 (&! of the ,onsumer @rotection Act 'H/# every

member of the District )orum shall hold office for a term of five years or upto

the age of /G years# whichever is earlier# and shall not be eligible for

reappointment. District )orum is a kind of civil court which delivers

;udgments in cases of consumer grievances. 2imilarly the 2tate ,ommissionand the ational ,ommission (mentioned below! are also akin to civil courts

which are higher in rank to District )orum.

Medicolegal importance of %& !ears of age

'. According to 2ection '/ (


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member of the 2tate ,ommission shall be below /K years of age.

Medicolegal importance of &0 !ears of age

'. According to 2ection &4 (

(&! Lssification of bones (

case of children!. n this paper we shall concentrate on the estimation of age from

O-rays only.

Age from 4ternum

%his is usually a neglected bone even by forensic practitioners engaged in the

determination of age. But it can give strikingly accurate ages. )igure ' is an

eample. %his case was brought to the author for age estimation. A lateral O-ray of

chest was advised. All the four pieces of sternum can be seen clearly.

%he third and fourth piece have almost united# which allowed the author to opine on

the age as around 'G years. %his was later found to be true from other evidences.

)igure & shows the usual ages of fusion of other parts of this bone.

Age from femur and hip .one

%he case shown in figure < was a male# who was brought to the author for alleged

sodomy on him. %he police wanted to know his age# as a tender age could lead to

stricter punishment to the accused. f we look at the O-ray carefully# we see that the

head of femur has appeared. %his meant that the age was above ' year. But the

greater trochanter has not yet appeared which allowed us to say that he was below

years. %he actual age of the boy was found to be & and a half years from other

evidences.

%he case shown in figure is also a male. Ie was brought as he had stolen some

;ewelry from a female# and he had applied for confinement in a ,hildren0s home. n

this case# the tri-radiate cartilage can easily be seen which allowed us to say that


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the person was above '< years and below 'G years of age. Iowever a very faint

shadow of lesser trochanter could also be seen. $esser trochanter appears at around

the age of ' years. Lpinion given was that the child was between '-'G years.

Figure $) *ateral -ra! foot in a eight and a half !ear old male Clic, to

enlarge)

Age from foot bones

%he case shown in figure G is very interesting# and include this case ;ust to show

that even the neglected foot bones can sometimes be very useful in estimation of

age. %his is the O-ray of an eight and a half year old child. %he 2econdary center in

the calcaneum has appeared (P/ years!# but has not united (Q' years!. By

eamination of ;ust this bone# we can limit our gap to years. Lf course

eamination of other bones was also required to pin-point the age# but this served

as an important initial step. 5eferences

%he reader is well advised to visit the following sites for further information onestimation of age in the living

'. David $ucy1 Iuman age estimation from 2keletal and dental evidence(Abstract of @h.D. Dissertation!

&. Age reconstruction


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