Questioned Document Examination & Verification

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Questioned Document Examination & Verification

Understanding Forensic Documents: Types and Classification

Forensic documents are categorized into standard and disputed documents, with each further subdivided based on origin and characteristics. Learn about the types and classes of forensic documents for comprehensive understanding.

Types of Forensic Documents

1- Disputed Documents: Explore disputed documents, including questioned materials, age, holograph documents, fraudulent alterations, and questioned signatures.
2- Standard Documents: Learn about standard documents, including sample signatures and undeniably genuine signatures.

Forensic documents are crucial in legal investigations, divided into standard and disputed categories. Standard documents encompass known originations, further classified into sample signatures and undeniably genuine signatures. On the other hand, disputed documents involve uncertainties regarding origin or characteristics, including material, age, holographs, alterations, and signatures under question. Understanding these distinctions is vital in forensic analysis and legal proceedings.

Disputed documents refer to documents whose origin, authenticity, or characteristics are uncertain and are therefore subjected to scrutiny or dispute. These documents typically raise questions or doubts regarding their authorship, contents, or alterations. They play a crucial role in forensic investigations and legal proceedings. Disputed documents can include various types, such as:

1. Questioned Age or Dates: Documents where the accuracy or validity of the dates mentioned is disputed, often requiring analysis to determine their authenticity

2. Questioned Holograph Documents: Documents, such as handwritten notes or wills, whose authorship or authenticity is contested, especially in cases where signatures or handwriting are involved.

3. Documents with Alleged Fraudulent Alterations: These are documents suspected of having been tampered with or altered in some way to misrepresent information or deceive.

4. Documents with Questioned Signatures: Involves documents where the authenticity or validity of signatures is doubted, which could be signatures of individuals involved in the document or endorsements.

Disputed documents are carefully examined and analysed by forensic experts using various techniques, including handwriting analysis, ink analysis, and document examination, to determine their authenticity, origin, and any potential alterations. The findings from these analyses are crucial in legal proceedings to establish the credibility and reliability of the disputed documents.

Disputed documents that can be examined under:

Government Documents

Insurance Policies
Air tickets/Railway tickets
Cash books
ACR formats
Service Books
Recommendations
Reports/Expert reports/ Post mortem reports/Inspection Reports
Memorandum of Understanding
Important agreements

Bank Documents:

Fixed Deposit/Time Deposit Receipts
Bank Securities
Bonds
Share Certificates
Specimen signature cards
Account opening forms
Gift cheques, cheques, drafts

Police Documents

Non-cognizable report formats
First Information report formats
Security Passes
I-Cards
Firearm licenses
Driving licenses
Vehicle registration certificates

Postal Documents

Revenue Stamps/Postal Stamps
Inland Letters/Envelopes
Cheques and money order forms
Time Deposit/Fixed Deposit Receipts
Kisan Vikas Patra, National Savings Certificate, and Indira Vikas Patra

Educational Documents

Migration/registration certificates
Date of Birth Certificates
Transfer Certificates
Mark sheets
Diploma/Degree certificates

Court Documents

Important judgments of apex courts
Non-Judicial/Judicial Stamp papers
Release orders
Bail orders

Sources of Admitted Writings:

Account books, Affidavits, Assignments, Autographs, Automobile insurance applications, Automobile license applications, Automobile title certificates, Bank deposit slips, Bank safe deposit entry records, Bank savings withdrawal slips. Bank signature cards, Bank statements, receipts for, Entries in the Bible (religious book), Bills of sale, Bonds, Books, signatures of owners on covers, Building "after hours" registers, Business license applications, Charity pledges, Chequebook stubs or record book, Checks, including endorsements, Church pledges, Convention Registration books, Contracts, Cooking recipes, Corporation papers, Criminal records, Credit applications, Credit cards, Deeds, Deeds of trust, Depositions, Diaries, Dog license applications, Drafts, Drive-it-yourself applications, Drivers' licenses and applications, Druggists' poison registers, Employment applications, Envelopes, Fishing licenses, Funeral attendance registers, Gas service applications, Gasoline mileage records, Gate records at defence plants, Greeting and Christmas cards, Hospital entry applications, Hotel and motel guest registers, Hunting licenses, Identification cards, Inventories, Leases, real property, Letters, Library card applications, Light company applications, Life insurance applications, Loan applications, Mail orders, manuscripts, Marriage records, Membership cards, Memoranda of all kinds, Military papers, Mortgages, Newspaper advertisement copy, Occupational writings, Package receipts, Parent's signatures on report cards, Partnership papers, Pawn tickets, Passports, Payroll receipts, Pension applications, Permit applications, Petitions, referendum, Photograph albums, Pleadings, Postal cards, Probate court papers, Promissory notes, Property damage reports, Receipts for rent, Registered mail return receipts, Releases of mortgages, Rental contracts for equipment, Reports, Retail store sales slips, School and college papers, Social security cards and papers, Sport and game score cards, Stock certificates, endorsements, Surety bond applications, Tax estimates and returns, Telegram copy, Telephone service applications, Time sheets, Traffic tickets, Voting registration records, Water company service applications, Wills, Workmen's Compensation papers.

Tags: forensic documents, standard documents, disputed documents, sample signatures, genuine signatures, questioned materials, questioned age, holograph documents, fraudulent alterations, questioned signatures.