Supreme Court bans truth drug test
|
COMMENTS 
India’s Supreme Court has said that use of the truth drug by the police to question suspects is illegal and a violation of their fundamental rights
In a major blow to investigating agencies, the Supreme Court, on May 5, 2010, declared “illegal” the use of narco-analysis, brain-mapping and polygraph tests on suspects.
“We are of the considered opinion that no individual can be forced and subjected to such techniques involuntarily, and by doing so it amounts to unwarranted intrusion of personal liberty,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said.
The apex court added that involuntarily subjecting an accused, a suspect or a witness to such techniques violated Article 20 (3) of the Constitution, which prohibits self-incrimination. These intrusive tests also violate a suspect’s ‘right to privacy’ that forms part of right to life and liberty, a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21.
Forcing an individual to such methods of investigation harms the legal process, it said, adding that even if a person is subjected to such a mode of investigation on consent, the result of the test could not be considered an admissible piece of evidence.
Investigators have conducted these tests to dig up leads in many recent high-profile cases. The court’s order came in response to petitions filed by several accused, questioning the validity of narco and brain-mapping tests.
This definitive pronouncement settles the legal position on the issue. As of now, there is no specific law either to authorise or to regulate the use of such tests, which many consider intrusive.
In the test, a suspect is injected with sodium penthanol, a chemical that numbs powers of perception and supposedly makes it difficult for a person to lie during questioning. The test results were never admissible in court as evidence, but police often made the accused take such tests to get ‘vital clues’ in a case.
Brain-mapping and narco tests have been conducted on arrested Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy. They were also done on the two men accused of killing 17 young women and children in Noida, a suburb of Delhi.
Source: Press Trust of India, May 5, 2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk, May 2010