Epidemiological patterns and medico-legal characteristics of autopsy cases at a Government Medical College in the Garhwal Region, Uttarakhand: A nine-year retrospective analysis

Background: Medico-legal autopsies provide essential information for determining the cause and manner of death and contribute significantly to criminal investigations, public health surveillance, and epidemiological research.Objectives: To evaluate the epidemiological patterns and medico-legal characteristics of autopsy cases conducted at a Government Medical College in the Garhwal region, Uttarakhand, over a nine-year period (2017–2025).Materials and Methods: A retrospective record-based observational study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology. All medico-legal autopsy cases with complete records from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2025 were included. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 21, and associations between categorical variables were assessed using the Chi-square test, with p