Tamil Nadu’s Forensic Sciences Department says it is the oldest forensic service in India: its earliest surviving report, from what was then the Chemical Examiner’s Laboratory in Madras, is dated 30 October 1849. Today it works from Forensic House, 30-A Kamarajar Salai, Mylapore, under the direct control of the state Home Department rather than the police, according to its official website.
In September 2026 the Chief Minister, C. Joseph Vijay, announced new DNA and cyber forensic units for the department, DT Next reported. Here is how the labs are organised, what they test and who can send them work.
A 175-year timeline
The department’s genesis page traces how separate labs were merged into one service:
| Year | Development |
|---|---|
| 1849 | Oldest traceable report of the Chemical Examiner’s Laboratory |
| 1905 | Separate Police Laboratory with a coin and currency expert |
| 1935-1951 | Ballistics, footprint and document experts appointed |
| 1959 | Chemical, police and excise labs combined into one Forensic Science Laboratory |
| 1970 | Mobile forensic labs for crime scenes set up |
| 1974 | First regional labs at Madurai and Coimbatore |
| 1976 | MSc in Forensic Science with the University of Madras begins (later suspended) |
| 1984 | Renamed Forensic Sciences Department |
What the Mylapore laboratory examines
The department’s RTI handbook lists the divisions at the Chennai main laboratory: anthropology, ballistics, biology, chemistry, documents, excise, explosives, instruments, narcotics, photography, physics, prohibition, serology, toxicology, and research and development. In plain terms, that covers poisons in post-mortem samples, blood and DNA, firearms and bullets, forged signatures and documents, seized drugs and illicit liquor, explosives residue, and skeletal remains.
It also offers clinical toxicology for hospitals, screening of food served to VVIPs, and paternity testing using DNA. Some samples go further afield: IGCAR’s KAMINI research reactor at Kalpakkam lists irradiation of forensic samples among its uses, for neutron activation analysis.
Regional and mobile labs
Outside Chennai the work is spread across regional forensic science laboratories, which mainly handle prohibition, narcotics, biology and toxicology samples. The older handbook names nine, at Tirunelveli, Madurai, Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Salem, Vellore, Ramanathapuram, Villupuram and Tiruchirappalli. The department’s Tirunelveli lab page now refers to ten regional labs. Tirunelveli’s, set up by a government order of 17 April 1978, serves Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi and Kanyakumari districts.
Mobile forensic science laboratories, one attached to each police district or commissionerate, go to crime scenes to collect and preserve evidence. The handbook counted 34. Chennai’s scene-of-crime teams work with these units before material reaches Mylapore.
September 2026: DNA, cyber and ballistics upgrades
According to DT Next’s report of 4 September 2026, the Chief Minister announced:
- DNA testing facilities at the Salem and Villupuram regional labs, costing about ₹14 crore together
- cyber forensic divisions at Salem and Tirunelveli, at ₹18.73 crore
- an automated ballistic identification system for the Chennai lab’s ballistics division, at ₹2.5 crore
Those three items add up to about ₹35.23 crore of a wider ₹212 crore package for police and fire services. Regional DNA capacity matters because biology samples from southern and western districts otherwise queue for Chennai, which slows charge sheets in rape and murder cases.
Who can send samples
The handbook lists police and criminal courts, government hospitals and veterinary hospitals, other state departments and local bodies, courts and departments of other states, inquiry commissions and civil courts. Members of the public can refer a case on payment of fees, but the Director decides whether to accept it. In practice a private citizen with a dispute, such as a questioned will, is usually better off asking the court to send the document. For a legal matter, consult a lawyer first.
The merger years
The path to one department was not straight. After the 1959 merger, the laboratory split again in 1967 into a Forensic Science Laboratory and a Chemical Examiner’s Laboratory. The Prohibition and Excise Laboratory was separated in 1971, the forensic and chemical labs were reunited in 1973, and the excise lab came back in 1980. The department was recognised for PhD programmes in 1981, three years before the present name was adopted. Its stated motto is “Justice through Science”.
The Tirunelveli regional lab shows how the network grew: it began in 1978 with toxicology and biology divisions inside the Tirunelveli Medical College campus, and moved into its own building, ordered in 2005 and built by the Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation, in November 2007.
Quick answers
Where is the Tamil Nadu forensic lab in Chennai?
Forensic House, 30-A Kamarajar Salai, Mylapore, Chennai 600004.
Is the department part of the police?
No. It is an independent department under the Home Department, though most of its work comes from the police and courts.
Can I get a DNA paternity test there?
Paternity testing is offered, but cases usually come through courts or the police; private requests need the Director’s approval.
How old is it?
Its oldest surviving report dates from 30 October 1849.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- Genesis of the department (Forensic Sciences Department, Tamil Nadu)
- Forensic Sciences Department home page (Government of Tamil Nadu)
- RTI handbook, Forensic Sciences Department (Government of Tamil Nadu)
- Regional Forensic Science Laboratory, Tirunelveli (Forensic Sciences Department)
- Rs 212 crore to bolster Tamil Nadu police, fire departments (DT Next)
- Projects and facilities: KAMINI irradiation for forensic samples (IGCAR)
