Mangaluru
A cross-sectional study was done in a law college where they observed that enhancing the aptitude and attitude of law students, towards medico-legal autopsy is a major necessity. Even a minor knowledge gap about medico-legal autopsies is crucial towards delivering justice. A clear understanding of medico-legal autopsies should be inculcated in law students. It can be achieved through workshops, seminars, exhibitions, guest lectures, etc. the study noted.
Authors Adarsh Sugathan, a tutor at the Department of Physiology, B Suresh Kumar Shetty, Associate Dean and Professor of Forensic Medicine, H Pavanchand Shetty, Associate Professor, all from Kasturba Medical College, Deepa Salian, Assistant Professor and Tharanath Shetty, Principal of SDM Law College, conducted the study titled Assessment of Attitude and Knowledge of Law Students Towards Medico-Legal Autopsies, for undergraduate law students using a semi-structured questionnaire distributed online.
Dr. Shetty said this implies that a run-through of the medico-legal procedure should be restructured and delivered to the law students in the simplest way possible through workshops, seminars, exhibitions, guest lectures, and so on.
It may be helpful to involve the support of religious organisations in these educating programmes, so that resistance to conducting autopsies is reduced. An aggressive attempt to educate not only law students, but also the general public, on the importance of post mortem examination and its value, is necessary, added Dr Shetty, who is also the State Medico legal Consultant. The paper was published in the Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology in December last year.
The Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) Law College last year entered into a memorandum of understanding with Kasturba Medical College to help each other with the sharing of legal and medical knowledge.
