State Forensic Science Laboratory, Himachal Pradesh was created on 13-12-1988 at Police Headquarters, Shimla. State FSL primarily caters to the needs of investigating agencies viz. Police, Vigilance, CID. Also, rendering service to the judiciary, universities, boards, banks, enquiry commissions and other Government Departments. State FSL started functioning from barracks of Police complex Bharari, Shimla with two divisions encompassing four specialities namely Biology & Serology and Chemistry & Toxicology. State FSL moved to Junga in 1996 and started functioning from the premises of Police Training School. Two more divisions encompassing four specialities viz. Documents & Photography and Physics & Ballistics were created in 1997 and became functional in the year 2000. In the year 2006, two more divisions viz. DNA and NDPS were created in State FSL, Junga. In order to ensure independent functioning of an investigating agency working on scientific principles, the State FSL was placed directly under Home & Vigilance department in the year 2005. To give a fillip to the investigation, two Regional FSLs were created at Dharamshala & Mandi in 2006 and have been housed in newly constructed complexes in 2012 and 2013.
A First: Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) cells were established in State FSL & RFSLs in 2014-15 as per Interpol guidelines. The new nomenclature Directorate of Forensic Science (DFS) has been approved by the Govt. in accordance with the HP Police Act, 2007 and notified in the Business of the Govt. of Himachal Pradesh (Allocation) Rules, 1971 in the year 2015-16. DNA facility at RFSL, NR Dharamshala, RFSL, CR, Mandi and First District Mobile Forensic Unit (DMFU) at Bilaspur were sanctioned in 2015-16. Lie-Detection facility and integration of Finger Print Bureau with Directorate of Forensic Science was done in 2017. Also, the State FSL and RFSLs are the approved centres for crime case analysis of Central Investigation Agencies viz. National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
