Forensic Examination of Class Characteristics in English Handwriting of the Three States: Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Kashmir in India
Komal Saini, Navneet Kaur · Arab Journal of Forensic Sciences and Forensic Medicine · 2018
The present study analyzed the English handwriting of subjectsfrom Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir to investigatewhether the examination of style characteristics helps determinethe nationality/ethnicity of the writer or the place where thewriter learned writing.The subjects had completed secondary education in their respectiveregional languages along with English as a second language.Characteristic features such as letter formations, punctuationmarks, spacing between letters, and margins were observed.The data were analysed using the chi- square test to determine significantclass characteristics in the English handwritings.Significant class characteristics were identified; these occurrenceswere attributable to the influence of habitually writing intheir native language, because the impact of regional language onthe subjects’ English handwriting was observed in a few samples.Forensic document examiners will be able to determine classcharacteristic in the English handwritings of people from differentstates using the established procedure and possibly also determinethe nationality or ethnic origin of writers.