IDENTIFICATION

AGE

Dr. AJEE KURUVILLA

 AGE
 Physical development
 Teeth
 Ossification centres- appearance &
fusion
 Age related changes
 Age in intra uterine life
 From birth to 25 years
 More than 25 years
 Age in intra uterine life

 Developing morphology
 Ossification centres appear
 Germination of teeth
 Haase’s rule-age in lunar months
 If Crown heel length is <25 cm, age
in months = square root of length
 If Crown heel length is >25 cm, age
in months = length / 5
 From birth to 25 years

 Physical features
 Teeth
 Ossification of bones
 Temporary teeth
TOOTH ERUPTION
 Lower central incisor 6-8months
 Upper central incisor 7-9 months
 Upper lateral incisor 7-9 months
 Lower lateral incisor 10-12months
 First molar 12-14 months
 Canine 17-18 months
 Second molar 20-30 months
 Permanent teeth
TOOTH ERUPTION
 First molar 6-7 yrs
 Central incisor 6-8 yrs
 Lateral incisor 8-9 yrs
 1st premolar 9-11 yrs
 2nd premolar 10-12 yrs
 Canine 11-12 yrs
 2nd molar 12-14 yrs
 3rd molar 17-25 yrs
 Ossification centres

 Wrist & Hand in children

 Elbow, shoulder, pelvis, knee in
adults
 Skull, vertebrae & sternum in old
people
 More than 25 years

 Physical features
 Teeth- Gustafson s method
 Changes in skeleton- closure of skull
sutures
 Gustafson s method

 Attrition
 Paradentosis
 Secondary dentine
 Root resorption
 Transparency of root
 Cementum apposition
 Gustafson s method

 Age = 11.43 + 4.56 (Total score) +/-

3.63
Total score = A+P+S+R+T+C
0 = no change
1 = slight change
2 = obvious change
3 = maximum change
Medico legal importance of AGE
 Criminal responsibility
 Judicial punishment
 Kidnapping
 Rape
 Marriage
 Attainment of majority
 Employment
 Impotence & sterility
 Criminal abortion
 Infanticide
 Criminal responsibility

 Sec 82 IPC- child < 7 yrs, no criminal

responsibility

 (in Malaysia 10yrs)

 Sec 83 IPC- child 7-12 yrs, liable for punishment

 (in Malaysia 10-12yrs)

 Indian Railways Act- child < 5 yrs not liable for

punishment
 Judicial punishment

Juvenile offender-
BELOW 18 yrs
Juvenile court
Rehabilitation school
 Consent
 Sec 89 IPC- child < 12 yrs cannot give
valid consent to suffer any harm which
may occur from an act done in good faith
& for his/ her benefit.
 Sec 87 IPC- child < 18 yrs cannot give
valid consent( implied or expressed) to
suffer any harm which may result from an
act not intended or not known to cause
death or grievous hurt. E.g. wrestling
contest
 Kidnapping
 Sec 361-366 IPC- offence of
kidnapping- girl less than 18, boy
less than 16 yrs
 Malaysia-girl >16, boy>14yrs)
 Sec 369 IPC- child less than 10 yrs
 Sec 366(A), 372, 373 IPC- less than
18 yr girl for Prostitution
 Sec 366(B)importing less than 21 yr
girl for Prostitution
 Rape
 Sec 375 IPC – girl below 16 yrs
 Wife below 15 yrs
 Marriage
Child Marriage Act
Girl above 18 & boy above 21
 Cohabitation
 Section 493 I.P.C
Every man who by deceit causes any
woman who is not legally married to him
to believe that she is lawfully married to
him and to cohabit or have sexual
intercourse with him in that belief, shall be
punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend
to ten year, and shall also be liable for fine
 Cohabitation
 The law presumes that no woman
would cohabit, unless deceived by
the man
 There is danger among “live-in”
relationships for the woman to
falsely accuse the man of having
deceived her, and thereby send the
man behind bars for 10 yrs !!
 Attainment of majority
18 yrs
 Adult franchise

 Driving license

When guardian appointed by Court,

person attains majority at age 21
 Employment
 Child labour - below 15 yrs
 Adolescent labour- 15- 18 yrs

 Adult labour- more than 18 yrs

Indian Factory Act- child below 14

cannot be employed in hazardous
jobs
AMENDMENT: any child below the age
of 14yrs cannot work
 Infanticide
 Killing of an infant (child below 1 yr)
CRIMINAL ABORTION
 Viability- after 7 months

 Gestational age of foetus important

in case of criminal abortion in view of
enhanced punishment
 Evidence in Court

118 of IEA - No minimum age

Sterility & Impotence
A boy is sterile before puberty , may
not be impotent before puberty
A girl is sterile before puberty &
after menopause
1. Which of the following is NOT a
criterion used in Gustafson's
method of assessing age from
teeth

a) Attrition

b) Paradentosis

c) Secondary dentine

d) Primary dentine
2.According to Section 89 IPC, a
child cannot give valid consent to
suffer any harm which can occur
from an act done in good faith, if
he/she is below

a) 10 years

b) 14 years

c) 12 years

d) 16 years
3. According to Haase’s rule, the
intra-uterine age of a foetus (up to
a crown-heel length of 25cm) can
be determined by
a) Calculating the square root of the
crown-heel length.

b) Dividing the crown-heel length by 5.

c) Multiplying the crown-heel length by

5.
4. Beyond a crown-heel length of
25cms, the age of foetus can be
determined by

a) Age = length/ 2

b) Age = (length)2

c) Age = length/ 5

d) Age = length x 5
5.The minimum age for criminal
responsibility according to the
Indian Railways Act is

a) More than 5 years

b) More than 7 years

c) More than 12 years

d) More than 14 years

6. A girl is sent to reformatory
school on being convicted of a
criminal offence, if her age is less
than

a) 15 years

b) 16 years

c) 17 years

d) 18 years
8. The study of incremental lines in
the enamel of tooth to assess the
age of a person is known as

a) Haase’s rule

b) Morissons’s Method

c) Boyde’s Method

d) McNaughten Rule
9. When a boy of 5 years kills an
infant he can be awarded

a) Death Sentence

b) Life Imprisonment

c) Solitary confinement

d) None of them.
10. To become a competent witness,
a person should attain the age of :

a) 12 years

b) 10 years

c) 8 years

d) 6 years

e) None of them
THANK YOU