Inclusive Innovations in Forensic Epistemology and Pedagogy: A Proposed Framework
| Published date | 01 January 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/23220058231206946 |
| Author | G. K. Goswami,Aditi Goswami |
| Date | 01 January 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Inclusive Innovations in Forensic
Epistemology and Pedagogy:
A Proposed Framework
G. K. Goswami1 and Aditi Goswami2
Abstract
Scientific temper in evidence processing using forensic knowledge reposes public faith in justice
system. Forensic science is a blend of various disciplines, including art, pure sciences, and humanities,
with experiment-oriented scientific validation. Forensics and law are intertwined precepts enabling
translational impact on the legal system in pursuit of truth to ensure flawless justice. Worldwide,
forensics intensely involves both doctrinal and clinical perspectives, largely converging on scientific
theories and laboratory experiments to construe expert opinion, and similar pedagogy must be
adopted in India as envisaged under the New Education Policy-2020.3 In legal parlance, forensic inputs
are secondary evidence, but primarily used for corroboration for exploring missing links in the chain of
events. Due to multi-disciplinary content knowledge sharing during forensic studies, though fascinating,
poses pedagogical challenges. Globally, imparting significance of procedural law, the backbone of
forensic evidence, is largely missing from forensic education. Expert opinion is contested in courtrooms
on ground of admissibility in terms of reliability and validity including protection of chain of custody
necessary to avoid manipulation or tampering of samples which is prime root cause for miscarriage
of justice. This article deliberates upon an entwined framework of epistemology and pedagogy for
imparting holistic understanding of law and science in forensic education. We propose three verticals
for forensic pedagogy: (i) crime scene management for scientific handling of articles and traces;
(ii) laboratory experimentation and forensic report writing and (ii) translating expert opinion into legal
evidence and its presentation during the court proceedings.
Introduction
1 Founder Director of the Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Sciences (UPSIFS), Lucknow, India.
2 BA LLB, Practicing lawyer.
3
Article
Asian Journal of Legal Education
11(1) 74–82, 2024
© 2023 The West Bengal National
University of Juridical Sciences
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/23220058231206946
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Corresponding author:
G. K. Goswami, Director of the Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Sciences (UPSIFS), Lucknow, India.
E-mail: goswamigk.ips@gmail.com
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