Page 21 - Veritas - 02.03.22

INTERACTION

WITH MRS. ANU

SEBASTIAN

Ms. Ann Mariya Thomas

Ms. Jocelyn Kunju John

Ms. Lorraine Tissan

Ms. Prathiksha R S

We had the opportunity to interact with Mrs. Anu Sebastian, Scientif-

ic Officer, Forensic Psychology Division, Karnataka Forensic Science

Laboratory. We asked a few questions about her experience being a

forensic psychologist.

1. How well is Forensic Psychology understood in India?

For that, you’ll have to divide the country into two parts - the north-

ern part and the southern. In the northern part, Forensic Psychology

is quite established, and we have a lot of case inflow as well. Even the

results that the Forensic Science Laboratories (FSLs) give are reliable.

Coming to the southern part of the country, we don’t have that many

FSLs equipped with Forensic Psychology. Bangalore, Kerala, and Chen-

nai have also only recently started, so not much case inflow is there.

Even the police don’t have much idea about Forensic Psychology. Psy-

chological evidence is only corroborative, and the court accepts this

only as secondary evidence.

2. Are mental illness examinations of criminals conducted in FSLs?

We don’t deal with that part where we see whether the person is men-

tally sane or not. Whatever cases we have gotten so far, it has only