SC SAYS NO TO NARCO TESTS

The Supreme Court on May 5 declared that the use of narco-analysis, brain-mapping and polygraph tests would be illegal if it is without consent. “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,” said a bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and comprising Justices R.V. Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari. The court said that involuntarily subjecting a person – an accused, a suspect or a witness – to such techniques violates the Constitution’s Article 20 (3), which prohibits self-incrimination. Forcing an individual to such methods of investigation violates the scheme of legal process. Even if people are subjected to such investigations with their consent, the result of the test cannot be an admissible piece of evidence. However, the court said if anything obtained by the investigators from such techniques in which a person had volunteered, the agencies can use them for further probe.