The Supreme Court has ruled that forcing someone to go through brain-mapping, narco-analysis or lie detector tests is unconstitutional because "it is an unwarranted intrusion on the individual's rights."
(Read: What is narco analysis)The verdict is a serious setback for the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI ) which argued that all their tests are legally sanctioned and are critical in cases where they can help provide evidence of crimes being committed.
The court, however, held that Article 20 (3) of the India Constitution that states "no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself."
If a person volunteers to go through narco-analysis or brain-mapping, the findings cannot be used without other supporting evidence, said the court. Also, while conducting these tests, investigating agencies have to follow the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
The case against these forms of interrogation and investigation was moved, among others, by Santokben Sharmanbhai Jadeja, a woman accused of leading an underworld gang in Gujarat, and Tamil film producer K Venkateswara Rao.
The Delhi High Court had also recently restrained police from going ahead with narco-analysis for arrested Naxal leader Kobad Ghandy till the Supreme Court gave its ruling.
(With PTI inputs)
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