 Admission Open for MBBS Program
Forensic Medicine
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Mock Court Simulation
Objectives
- To enlighten the undergraduate students about the court room proceedings.
- To experience the relation between Medicine and Law.
Context
- Members of medical profession may be required to attend court to give evidence in Medico-Legal cases. Therefore it is desirable that all medical practitioners posses some basic knowledge about criminal courts and court procedures.
- The Mock Court will teach students about the real Court room setup during recording of evidence, position of Judge, the position of a Public Prosecutor and a Defense lawyer, the value of evidences. The students will come to know the steps in court room proceedings such as oath taking, Examination in chief, cross examination, reexamination and questions by Judge.
- During the designing phase, the students are taught to enact as a witness as well as an accused in a litigation cases. In the implementation phase, the physician as witness delivers himself as a man of science, while as an accused he is expected to prove himself right against the litigation.
The Practice
- Doctor as an expert witness according to section 45IEA in courts of law most often attends court in order to depose evidence in Medico-Legal cases. Medical students are future practicing physicians. As they excel in their own fields, the call for attending a Medico-Legal case is mere nightmare. The number of litigation cases, assault against Doctor is increasing nowadays and as a result each physician is becoming a victim in one way or the other.
- The fear of attending the court as a witness during a trial or landing in the witness box as an accused, keeps the physician stressed. Though most doctors excel in their scientific knowledge and their practice, they often lack knowledge in the legal aspects of medicine.
- The practice helps the students to handle various Medico-Legal cases in courts of law. It makes the students to learn regarding defending themselves in litigation cases and proper use of their scientific knowledge in courts of law. It also teaches the students regarding referring Medico-legal documents such as x-rays, photographs, recorded evidence in Courts of law in order to confirm or as evidence.
- The court room procedure allows the use of various Medico-Legal documents such as postmortem report, examination of survivor and accused of rape, drunkenness certificate and potency certificate etc.
- Court room simulation procedure will teach the students regarding conduct and duties of a doctor in courts of law such as dressing sense of a doctor, use a simple terms, avoiding superlatives in courts of law, avoiding unnecessary arguments, discussing the case with the public prosecutor prior to conduct of the case.
- Having trained in the Mock Court simulation, they will be aware of the Do’s and Dont’s in medicine which is expected by law during a trial.
Evidence of Success
- Undergraduate Medical students after a session of Mock Court simulation have developed as well as increased the confidence level in dealing a Medico-Legal Case (MLC).
