A forensic pathologist in India wishes to exhume a buried body for retrieval of viscera to confirm suspected arsenical poisoning. According to Indian medico-legal practice, exhumation must be authorised by a magistrate and a licence will ordinarily NOT be granted beyond how many years after burial?
- A 2 years
- B 4 years
- C 6 years ✓
- D 10 years
Correct answer: C. 6 years
Explanation
Indian law permits exhumation only with written permission of a magistrate, performed preferably in the early morning under supervision, and a licence for exhumation will not normally be issued more than 6 years after burial. Beyond this period skeletalisation and loss of detectable poison make recovery of toxicological evidence futile. International texts describe exhumations decades later for DNA or forensic identification, but for poison detection under Indian regulations the 6-year limit is the accepted convention and the examined answer.
Reference: Narayan Reddy, The Essentials of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, 34th ed.
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Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.