Rigor mortis means rigidity of death, it is a condition characterised by stiffening, shortening and opacity of the muscles which follow the period of primary relaxation.

 Rigor mortis means rigidity of death, it is a condition characterised by stiffening, shortening and opacity of the muscles which follow the period of primary relaxation. It is due to chemical changes involving the proteins of the muscle fibres and it marks the end of the muscle’s cellular or molecular life. The contractile element of the muscle consists of protein filaments of two types, viz, myosin and actin. They lie in interdigitating manner. In the relaxed state, the actin filaments interdigitate with the myosin filaments only to a small extent but when the muscle contracts, they interdigitate to a great extent. The principal factor concerned in the process of contraction and relaxation of the muscle is the presence of the enzyme ATP which is in high concentration in a resting muscle. Its production and utilisation are constantly balanced in life. After death, ATP is resynthesised for a short time depending upon the glycogen available locally, but after this glycogen is used up, ATP cannot be resynthesised. This leads to the fusion of myosin and actin filaments into a dehydrated stiff gel resulting in the condition known as rigor mortis. During rigor mortis, the reaction of the muscle changes from slightly alkaline to distinctly acid owing probably to the formation of lactic acid. Rigor mortis persists until autolysis of myosin and actin filaments occurs as a part of putrefaction. Every muscle in the body, voluntary and involuntary, takes part in the process, including the musculature of the heart and blood vessels, the iris of the eye, the platysma of the skin, and the dartos of the scrotum. According to Parikh”s Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology, rigor mortis first appears in involuntary muscles and then in voluntary muscles. It is not dependent on the nerve supply as it develops in paralysed limbs also. It is tested by gently bending the various joints of the body. In the involuntary muscles, rigor mortis appears in the heart within a hour after death. In the voluntary muscles, the sequence is as follows: Rigor mortis first appears as a rule in the muscles of the eyelids (3-4 hours), and then in the muscles of the face (45 hours), neck and trunk (5-7 hours), followed by muscles of the upper extremities (7-9 hours) and then the legs (9-11 hours). The last to be affected are the small muscles of the fingers and toes (11-12 hours). When rigor mortis is thus established, the jaw, neck, and extremities become fixed in position with the arms bent at the elbows and the legs at the knees and hips, and movements at the joint are possible only within a very limited range. The rigidity generally passes off, in the same order in which it occurred, due to autolysis of muscle proteins. In Sub-continent (Indo-Pak), rigor mortis commences in 2-3 hours after death, takes about 12 hours to develop from head to foot, persists for another 12 hour, and takes about 12 hours to pass off. Thus, the presence and extent, or absence of rigor mortis helps to provide a rough estimate of the time since death. As for example, if rigor mortis has not set in, the time since death would be within 2 hours and if it has developed, the time since death would be within about 12-24 hours. The factors which influence rigor mortis include age, health and mode of the death also and according to Parikh”s Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology, the onset of rigor is later and the duration longer in the strong muscular person and similarly in cases of sudden death, in healthy adults, a late onset and a long duration is usual. In Modi’s Medical Jurisprudence & Toxicology, it has been categorically mentioned that in general, rigor mortis sets in one to two hours after death, is developed in about twelve hours.

Perusal of columns No.16 and 17 of the Inquest Report that it was dead body of powerful and strong person; post-mortem report of the deceased and statement of doctor clearly shows that death of the deceased was immediate after receipt of injuries hence it was sudden death, therefore, according to established principles of Medical Jurisprudence, onset of rigor mortis was later and its duration was longer. Thus, the opinion given by the doctor regarding time between death and post-mortem as five to six hours is mere ipse dixit and not according to settled principles of Medical Jurisprudence on the subject, therefore, when doctor has himself observed that rigor mortis was “fully developed”; as per inquest report, dead body was of powerful and strong person, assailants came and shots were fired at deceased and death was “just after receipt of the injuries i.e. sudden”, then, by no stretch of imagination, time between death and post-mortem of the deceased person can be considered as less than twelve hours. Therefore, medical evidence has negated that occurrence took place at the stated/alleged time and when exact time of occurrence has not been proved by the prosecution, then entire superstructure of the case of prosecution has been smashed and fallen like house of cards.

It goes without saying that if eyewitnesses have themselves opted to narrate exact locale of the entry wounds in their statements and same is not confirmed by medical evidence, then none-else but prosecution has to suffer.

It is trite law that witness who denies admitted facts cannot be termed as reliable witness.

(Criminal Appeal No.64331-J/2019)
Muhammad Afzal vs
The State
(Criminal RevisionNo.43121/201
Waseem Nazir vs Sajid Ali, etc
Date of hearing :06.03.2023