a. Meaning of Death
Death is an irreversible cessation of functions of the respiratory, cardiac and nervous system.
In general understanding death refers to cessation of life from human beings. The Law requires more than cessation of three primary functions in order to declare a person dead such as respiratory, sensation and pulsation.
Thanatology: Thanatos = ‘death’ + logy = ‘speaking’
P. Jaisingh Modi has focused on permanent cessation of life meaning that a person shall not be considered as dead until there is fair possibility of reverse of life to human body.
Apurba Nandy in his book ‘Principles of Forensic Science defines death as permanent and irreversible cessation of functions of three interlinked vital systems of the body.
Human Body Organ Transplantation (Regulations and Prohibition Act) 2055 defines that as irreversible loss of the receptive and responsive activity of brain due to death of the brain stem
Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 of India, Section 2 (b) defines death as the permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after live- births has taken place.
b. Types of death: -
- Somatic death: It is also called systematic death. It is the condition when doctors or others pronounce that the person is no longer alive, and it is a sudden incident (clinical death). It is understood as a complete and irreversible stoppage of the circulation, respiration and brain functions.
- Cellular(molecular) death: It is a new concept. Here death occurs due to death of individual cells of different organs, and which is often a gradual process. It means the death of cells and tissues individually which takes place usually one to two hours after the stoppage of the vital functions. Molecular death occurs in piece meal.
On the basis of manner of death, the certain types of death are: ,-
- Natural
- Criminal: - asphyxia, poisoning, severe blood hemorrhage, wound/ injury
- Electrocution, lightening, thermal injuries
c. Cause of death: it is finding the direct pathological situation which results in death, and it can be taken from either fatal diseases or fatal injury or anomalies inconsistent with life.
It is determined by following autopsy anamnestic data, circumstantial evidence, morphological evidence of disease and/or injury and the result of additional laboratory studies.
Cause of death is the injury, disease, or combination of the two that initiates a train of psychological disturbances, resulting in the termination of life. Two causes of death: -
- Immediate cause: There is the presence of disease or injury at the time of death
- Proximate death: The original natural disease process, injury or event that led to a string of uninterrupted train of events that could be of over weeks, months, years, that eventually led to the individual’s death.
d. Mode of death
It refers to the abnormal physiological state that existed at the time of death.
According to Bichat, there are three modes of death depending upon the system most obviously involved, irrespective of what the remote cause of death may be, they are: -
- Coma
- Syncope
- Asphyxia
As per Gordon the modes of death can be listed as below: -
- Anoxic anoxia
- Anemic anoxia
- Stagnant anoxia
- Histotoxic anoxia
e. Manner of death
It is the circumstantial cause of death. It refers to the design fashion in which the cause of death came into being. Basically there are two types of manner of death namely: ,-
Natural- death resulting from the disease
Unnatural- the manner of death is unnatural and violent. Violence may be accidental, suicidal or homicidal in origin depending upon the circumstances attending the episode.
However, there is also understood to have 4 manners of death such as: - natural, accident, unnatural, suspicious
f. Mechanism of death
It is a Patho-physiological process through which death results. It refers to the physiological derangement or biochemical disturbance in relation to death. It includes such entities as metabolic acidosis and alkalosis, sepsis, paralysis, etc.
Source: -
Dr. Harihar Wasti's lecture at Kathmandu School of Law, 2024
Dr. k.S. Narayan Reddy & O.P. Murty, ‘The essentials of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology’, The Health Science Publishers, 2017
Dr. Ramesh Parajuli, ‘Forensic Jurisprudence’, Pairavi Book House, 2017]
