Narco Analysis

NARCO ANALYSIS

As science has surpassed the development of law, there is inescapable complexity regarding what can be admitted as evidence in court. Development of novel tools of investigation has led to the materialization of scientific tools of interrogation like the narco-analysis test, but they often raise uncertainties pertaining to basic human rights and also about their reliability. One of the most intriguing concerns arising in the arena of narco analysis test done is the interface with the fundamental rights of the common citizens of our country. The legal position of applying this technique as an investigative abet elevate indisputable issues like encroachment of an individual’s rights, liberties and freedom.

The author seeks to analyze the extent of invasion of privacy by intruding into a “subject’s mental privacy,” denying an opportunity to choose whether to speak or remain silent, and physically restraining a subject to the location of the tests. The paper reflects upon forcible intrusion into a person’s mental processes as an affront to human dignity and liberty, often with grave and long-lasting consequences.

There is a dearth of rules and regulations governing the admissibility and plausibility of the same. Further, the Right against Self-Incrimination guaranteed in the Constitution of India, though clear in its wording, owing to equally compelling factors such as the State’s interest in preservation of law and order, has failed to generate a set of concrete workable principles that a court can use to decide and defend the outcomes of particular cases. A sovereign State has no right to compel a sovereign individual to surrender his right to self defense. Thus, an appropriate equilibrium should be maintained between individual liberty and the adherence of civilized standards of criminal jurisprudence for the reason that compelling public interest cannot justify the dilution of constitutional rights.

Keynotes: right against...