Abstract
In criminal investigations, it often becomes a necessity to identify whether someone had been
at the crime scene. Forensic science has a vital role in identifying the offender. Footprint evidence is one of the most important tools in such identification processes. Just like fingerprints, each person’s footprints are unique and can be very important in connecting a suspect to either the crime scene or the crime victim. Footprints carry friction ridge patterns unique to an individual, and the patterns can distinguish between even identical twins. Since the patterns of the ridges do not change with a person’s life span, the footprint analysis becomes an efficient means of personal identification. Due to these reasons, footprint
evidence collection, preservation, and analysis have been of growing interest in law enforcement. This review focuses on the scientific significance of footprints in criminal investigations and their role in legal proceedings.
Introduction
Because forensic wisdom is grounded on physical substantiation, forensic investigators assay
crime spots or crime scenes for physical substantiation like fingerprints, blood, lip print,
vestiges, etc., to identify the perpetrator and break crimes. point is a veritably important piece
of substantiation so is Footmark.
The footmark is an important piece of physical substantiation set up at numerous crime scenes, including homicide, burglary, and sexual assault. Yet, it’s frequently overlooked in the early stages of a disquisition. The most pivotal aspect is the examination and comparison of footmark prints. These are subordinated to a thorough forensic & scientific assessment. vestiges may reveal information that can prop in the identification of a suspect and the crime scene.
lt is the characteristics that are unique in shape and detail that must be looked for and studied.
Bare footmark or print and shoeprint or print is generally known as Footmark.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The stride dimension, position of each footmark, its shape, size, angulations and depth, interspaces and external perimeters, heel crimps, injuries or accidental damages give circular information about gait pattern, person’s height, leg length, range of body weight, and interrelated movement of the bottom, ankle, leg, and body that are unique to that person.
In one Florida case, for illustration, a bloody shoe print was discovered on the carpet in the house of a murder victim. The print suggested that the print was caused by a hole in the shoe. Investigators gathered and tested shoe prints from people who were known to be in the area near the time of the murder. By superimposing the bloody shoeprint from the crime scene with the test print made from the suspects shoe, footwear observers were suitable to identify the malefactor.
“Wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever he leaves, indeed unconsciously, will serve as silent substantiation against him. Not only his fingerprints or his vestiges, but his hair, the filaments from his apparel, the glass he breaks, the tool mark he leaves, the makeup he scratches, the blood or semen he deposits or collects. All of these and further bear mute substantiation against him. This is substantiation that does n’t forget. It is n’t confused by the excitement of the moment. It is n’t absent because mortal substantiations are, it’s factual substantiation, physical substantiation cannot be
wrong, it cannot perjure itself; it cannot be wholly absent, only its interpretation can err. Only
mortal failure to find it, study and understand it, can dwindle its value.”(Paul L. Kirk 1974).
The print of a Footmark can be divided into two orders
- 2- D (Two Dimensional)
- 3- D (Three Dimensional)
2. Dimensional Footprint – When the underpart of a shoe collides with a hard, flat, or
aeroplane face, similar as a pipe bottom or concrete, this type of print is created. The
substance is constantly transmitted from the sole of the shoe to the ground. Those formed
with wettish dirt and blood are known as positive prints. A favourable print is generally
egregious. These are formed in the dust or on a face that has been smoothly waxed.
3. Dimensional vestiges – These forms of footmark prints do when a shoe is impressed into a
soft material similar as slush, beach or snow.
The value of similar substantiation will, still, be commensurate to the points of identification
that can be demonstrated.
The Relevance of Footprint in Criminal investigations
Footprints are one of the most crucial pieces of evidence in criminal investigations because of
their singularity. Footprints are unique to individuals in terms of footprint size, footprint
shape, arch type and footprints of ridges and creases on the bottom of their foot. Even the
same monozygotic twins with almost identical genotypes, have their own footprint. The
friction ridges and patterns on the bottom of the feet are reproducible throughout a person’s
life course and footprints are therefore reproducible, enduring identifiers. Footprint evidence
is particularly useful in situations in which other means of identification, such as DNA or
fingerprints, are unavailable. For example, footprints are commonly found at crime scenes,
especially outdoors, in damp, sandy or snowy environments. When fingerprints are collected
by investigators, it is possible to make an unambiguous connection between a suspect and a
crime scene, which can therefore confirm both presence and participation. In forensic
science, physical evidence plays an important role in the investigation and prosecution of
criminal offences. Footprints represent a type of trace evidence, i.e., microscopic but
informative pieces of physical evidence that are linked to a person or an object. Just as
fingerprints can link a perpetrator to a particular spot, so can footprints shed light on a
perpetrator’s location and behaviour. E.g., footprints at a crime scene can provide
investigators with a picture of the suspect’s movement, as on foot or on hands and knees he
also confirms the attempt of evading or trying to infiltrate a specific zone). The physicality of
footprint evidence permits different analyses. Professionals can at times evaluate the
thickness, size, and wear patterns to discriminate features. In serious crimes, such as burglary,
assault, or murder, footprint evidence can help corroborate witness testimony, surveillance, or
other evidence. Additionally, footprints may also connect a suspect to a specific kind of
footwear, such as shoes with distinctive tread patterns.
LAW FRAMEWORK OF INDIA RELATED TO FOOTPRINT EVIDENCE
Footprint evidence has a decisive role in criminal investigations in India which are regulated by the enactment of a law and judicial decision. The Indian Evidence Act, CrPC, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) are all of significant utility in the management of physical evidence such as footprints. As part of the forensic analysis development, the footprint evidence is one of the important sources for connecting criminals to crime scenes. Evidence collection, storage, and forensic trial, however, remains to be problematic. With the continued development of forensic science, the legal consideration of footprint evidence may changealong with it, which will enhance its use in criminal investigation and in the courtroom. The law of footprint evidence falls under a set of laws, rules, and judgments of Indian judicial
precedents on the collection, preservation and exploitation of physical evidence used for investigations of crime. Footprints as physical evidence are of great importance in the of the perpetrators to crime scenes and the attribution of the accused to the offense.
Following is a summary of the key statutes and legal principles relating to footprint evidence in India.
1. Indian Evidence Act, 1872
The Indian Evidence Act, 1872, is the primary enactment, rule by rule, governing the evidence in Indian courts. It is the legal instrument providing a framework for the gathering and examination of all evidence, including testimonial physical evidence (e.g., footprints). Key sections under this act include:
- Section 3: Defines “evidence” as such material that can be taken into the courtroom to prove or disprove a case fact, material that is physical in nature, e.g., fingerprints.
- Section 45: It is in this subsection (which permits).that expert testimony is proposed before court. Forensic science professionals can provide evidence for the singularity of foot prints, their value and the methodologies used for their analysis to be brought into the evaluation of footprint evidence in the prosecution of criminal offences.
- Section 27: It enables the reception of information communicated by a suspect, e.g., by directing the police where a fingerprint is likely to lead the police to the crime scene, where 7 footprints are likely to be present. If a defendant freely drives police to the scene of the crime the markings will be admissible in evidence.
2. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC)
Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) is the corpus of procedural rules in criminal law in India. The CrPC. describes the procedures for the acquisition and treatment of physical evidence, such as footprints. Relevant sections include:
- Section 154 : Processes related to registering a First Information Report (FIR). Physical evidence from the crime scene, including footprints, has to be seized by the police after an FIR is registered in a criminal case.
- Section 165 : Provides police officers with the ability to extract evidence from crime scenes, e.g., prints. Specifically, that, footprints (if it is applicable to the case), are properly gathered and archived in good condition, in order to be analysed.
- Section 160 : Potentiates police forces’ ability to take any person in for interrogation as part of criminal investigation, and this may be important when an accused has been identified by footprint evidence at the crime scene.
3. The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC)
As per Indian Penal Code (IPC), various offences and penalties are defined, in which offence can be established based on footprints evidence for proving involvement of an accused person of a crime, etc. While the IPC does not explicitly relate to the footstep, the circumstances therein can be utilised to attribute fault in relation to a commission of an offence under relevant sections as follows:
Section 302 (Murder) : If footprints in a homicide crime scene are linked to a homicide suspect into the crime scene, they can be used as circumstantial evidence to corroborate the crime allegation.
Footprints in the scene of Burglary or Theft can be employed to establish the presence of the
alleged culprit in the crime scene.
4. Forensic Science (Application in Law)
Use of forensic evidence, e.g., footprint analysis, has become significant to the Indian criminal justice system. Trace evidence, due to its “unique” nature and hence its enablement to be attributed to an individual for a forensic professional to testify before a court of law, is commonly needed. Forensic science laboratories in India are often called upon to determine the nature of footprint evidence by applying a variety of techniques to decide how to compare and match and so correlate samples to the suspect’s prints.
Forensic Science Laboratories : These laboratory test results and so on, including footprint evidence, are compared with the present databases or prints of the convicted suspects. Forensic analysis usually includes measurement of the morphology (ridges, patterns, depth, and size of the footprint) as well as tread pattern of footwear, if previously identified.
Expert Testimony: Forensic experts play an essential role in the courtroom evidence
presentation of footprint evidence. They characterize the extraction, preservation and the
characterization of the prints. Their experience is of greater relevance in the frame of trying
to explain the contribution of the footprint evidence to either the identification of, or to the
attribution to, the suspect or the victim.
5. Judicial Precedents
Footprint evidence has been allowed in certain criminal cases in Indian courts. According to the judgement made by the courts, some footprint evidence (when carefully collected and preserved) is sufficiently strong to establish the identity involved and to attribute it to a crime scene. For instance:
Here, the Supreme Court upheld the admissibility of footprint evidence to establish a defendant’s presence in the area of a crime, highlighting the importance of proper gathering and expert testimony in the case of forensic science investigations.
Ramchandra v. State of Maharashtra (2005): The Bombay High Court held that at a crime scene itself, footprint evidence could be considered as circumstantial evidence only if, on the premises of the same association of a particular individual, a reasoned inference could be drawn.
Conclusion
It can be said that the conversation is over when we harshly admonish someone’s faults, causing the person to feel guilty and, perhaps, resentful. This is not the case with footprints in providing physical evidence, as they are commonly used in the process of investigating criminal incidents. They are an effective means of providing information and often lead to the identification of the offending party in court. The very name, footprints, the quietest witnesses of the crime tells us that such evidence serves as a separate conduit which undoubtedly links the accused with the crime scene. Even with the use of gloves, masks, and other means of concealment, criminals could not always help leaving their footprints or footwear impressions behind since these are things that they tend to forget to wear. While this
is a vital element of evidence that could point towards a suspect it also gets often overlooked
because of the lack of proper training in crime scene investigation. Investigators might not
see that the evidence of the shoe print is important, so they may fail to notice it or think that it
is unusable due to other’s steps on the scene. Thus it is the truth because the elements that
come with time are also great forces that clear evidence of this nature away and less and less
it stays valuable. The collection, preservation, and examination of the footprint evidence are
crucial tasks that need law enforcement officers and the criminal justice community to be
trained and understand them scientifically. That will bring the law from its side of being a
passive observer to the active side that can hold people to account in the court through the
evidence they provide.
Author Name
Drishti Buttan