Abstract Background Forensic psychiatry increasingly overlaps with major forensic disciplines (toxicology, genetics, neuroimaging/physiological biomarkers, digital forensics, and psychological autopsy) to provide objective evidence in court. This scoping review is mapping the scope and breadth of this integration in psychiatric-legal evaluations. Main body The review of 54 studies published between 2010 and 2026 in Australia, Europe, North America, Brazil, India, China, Turkey, Russia, and other countries indicates that forensic science methods increase objectivity, support psychiatric formulations, and enhance the admissibility of evidence in court. There were five key themes, namely neuroimaging and physiological biomarkers (2 experimental studies and 2 volumetric studies), forensic toxicology in substance-induced psychosis vs. settled insanity (2 case study studies and 2 cohort studies), behavioural genetics/neuropsychological assessment (2 multi-method studies and 2 review studies), psychological autopsy/risk formulation (2 cross The techniques enhance spatial/temporal recovery of mental conditions, risk evaluation, insanity defence analysis, and sentencing mitigation especially on differentiating between voluntary intoxication and disease of mind or defending diminished responsibility. There are, however, limitations of small samples, cultural bias, the risk of over-interpretation, non-standardisation, ethical issues (consent, genetic discrimination, privacy), and under-representation of geographic locations outside high-income settings. Conclusion Forensic science techniques may supplement psychiatric-legal assessments by providing additional objective data. However, their contribution is limited by methodological, cultural, and ethical constraints. Such issues as the need to address the existing challenges with the help of interdisciplinary guidelines, low-cost implementation, cultural adaptation (e.g., through the Indian Evidence Act and the Mental Healthcare Act 2017), and standardised practices that would make the implementation feasible, reliable, and practicable in global forensic-psychiatric practice will be necessary.
Balbudhe et al. (Tue,) studied this question.