Will help investigations, increase conviction rate: Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 introduced in Lok Sabha

A Bill to allow the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to collect and store biological samples of detenus and convicts was tabled and introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday. .The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 was introduced in the lower house by Union Home Minister of State Ajay Mishra, even as senior cabinet ministers like Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, and quite a few in the Treasury Benches were absent, as per a report in The Hindu.The Bill's purpose, as stated in its text, is:"to authorise for taking measurements of convicts and other persons for the purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters and to preserve records and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.".The Bill grants legal sanction for collection of such body measurements, and states that this will assist in making investigations more efficient and expeditious, apart from helping increase the conviction rate. It thus repeals the Identification of Prisoners Act of 1920.The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill argues that new ‘‘measurement’’ techniques being used and recognised in advanced countries give credible and reliable results, which makes it essential to make provisions "for modern techniques to capture and record appropriate body measurements in place of existing limited measurements." It states that it was considered necessary to expand the ‘ambit of persons’ whose measurements can be taken to help investigating agencies gather "sufficient legally admissible evidence" and establish crimes committed by any accused. The provisions in the Bill will thus "help in unique identification of a person involved in any crime and will assist the investigating agencies in solving the criminal case," it is stated. .Measurements here have been defined as including finger-impressions, palm-print impressions, foot-print impressions, photographs, iris and retina scan, and physical, biological samples. The same would be analysed along with behavioural attributes including signatures, handwriting or other such markers stated in Section 53 and 53A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).Those whose measurements can be collected include those convicted for offences, persons ordered to give security for their good behaviour or towards maintaining peace under Section 117 of the CrPC, and those arrested in connection with an offence or under any preventive detention law.With an exception for those apprehended for offences against women or children or for offences where the imprisonment is more than seven years, no one can be obliged to share their samples, the Bill states. However, Section 6(2) of the Bill states that refusal to allow the taking of measurements hall be deemed to be an offence under Section 186 of the Indian Penal Code (voluntarily obstructing any public servant in the discharge of his public functions).The NCRB can collect the record of measurements in this regard from states and union territories and store, preserve and destroy the same at the national level, apart from sharing them with any law enforcement agency. Further, if magistrates feel that the collection such samples is warranted under the CrPC in a case, they may make an order to that effect.Head Constables and police officers above that rank are authorised to record the measurements as stated. Authorities are empowered to take the samples in any manner prescribed from those resisting the same, and a bar on suits against such collections is stated in the Bill. Both the Central and State governments can frame rules for collection of samples..120 members voted in favour of the introducing the Bill while while 58 members voted against it. The opposition argued that it violates the fundamental right to privacy, a valid concern given that India still does not have a data privacy law in place.Manish Tewari, Congress Member of Parliament from Punjab's Anandpur Sahib constituency, said that the Bill is against Article 20(3) of the Constitution (no person can be compelled to be a witness against themselves) as well as the Supreme Court decision in KS Puttaswamy v. Union of India (right to privacy case).RSP leader from Kollam constituency NK Premachandran argued that the Bill is in violation of human rights provisions in the United Nations charter. BSP's Ritesh Pandey said that the Bill in its present form paves the way for collection of samples from political protestors..[Read Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill of 2022]