BONE OSSIFICATION TEST.

Why in news?

• Recently, Supreme Court has said the test can’t be said to be an infallible and cannot be the sole basis to decide the age of an accused who claims to be a juvenile.
• It is an age determination test of a person on the basis of assessment of his or her bony framework done through X-Rays/ CT-scans.
• The test is required to determine the age in order to fix the criminal liabilities based on which the law treats the persons differently based on their age.
• It is the primary test for age determination.
• Human bones are remodelled and new layer of bone material is laid by a process called ossification (or osteogenesis). Based upon this phenomenon, ossification test is carried out.

• This test only tells the ‘estimated’ age of a person and not the exact age.
• The test is not useful when a person has crossed 25-27 years of age. This is primarily because nearly all the bones are completely ossified and the skeletal growth ceases by the age of 25 years.