Inequality in Forensic Medicine in India: The Current Scenario and Way Forward

TL;DR

India faces a shortage of forensic medicine experts due to limited postgraduate training opportunities, which could impact justice delivery in several states.

Contribution

This study quantifies the disparity in forensic medicine postgraduate training availability across Indian states using a newly calculated FMT/FM index.

Findings

The national FMT/FM PG trainee index is 0.054, with 20 states exceeding this value.

Nine states and union territories have zero FMT/FM PG trainee index due to lack of training seats.

Deficient PG seats in forensic medicine may hinder justice delivery in affected regions.

Abstract

Background

Forensic Medicine (FM) is one of the core specialties of medicine in India, which serves as a bridge between medical science and India’s justice delivery systems. Although FM experts play a crucial role in handling medicolegal cases, there is an increasing deficit of FM experts in India. This may be due to the inadequate postgraduate (PG) seats across the states and the low uptake of PG seats in FM. This study was conducted to explore the current status of PG seats along with the Forensic Medicine Toxicology (FMT)/FM index across Indian states.

Methodology

In this cross-sectional study, data on the number of PGs in FMT/FM and the institutes offering PG courses in FMT/FM were searched on the official website of the National Medical Commission. The data available on the website until November 2023 were incorporated. The FMT/FM index was calculated at the national and state levels, and the states were graded based on the national FMT/FM index.

Results

The national FMT/FM PG trainee index was 0.054. Considering this as the reference value, grading of the FMT/FM PG trainee index was done as the highest (1.159 to 0.308), higher than the nation (0.054 but less than 0.308), lower than the nation (0.054 but higher than 0.00), and zero. Among all the states and union territories, Andaman & Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Jammu & Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Ladakh had zero FMT/FM PG index due to non-availability of any PG seats for FMT/FM. In total, 20 states had an FMT/FM PG index higher than India’s FMT/FM PG index headed by Pondicherry (1.159), followed by Chandigarh (0.429) and Goa (0.308).

Conclusions

PG seats were highly deficient in several states, which is more likely to affect justice delivery in the future across these states. This study has a few limitations, as we did not explore the actual intake of these PG seats across different states. We anticipate a lower intake of PG seats due to factors such as low demand, fewer job opportunities, and monetary gain. However, this needs further exploration in future studies.

Figures