Delhi High Court defers verdict on PIL seeking narco/polygraph tests for complainants, emphasizing the seriousness of the matter under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Keywords: CrPC, narco test, polygraph test

On Monday, a request was made to the police to ask the complainant if they are willing to undergo narco analysis, polygraph, and brain mapping tests to prove the genuineness of their complaint, and the Delhi High Court has postponed its decision on the matter.

During its hearing in the plea of public interest litigation filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashwini Upadhyay, the court observed that prayers seeking to amend the Criminal Procedure Code would entail changes and it could not issue such directions. Meanwhile, Upadhyay argued that numerous instances exist where individuals have been unjustly imprisoned for 10-15 years due to false allegations in rape, dowry, and SC/ST cases. He further suggested that subjecting complainants to these tests would help diminish such unfounded claims.

The bench, including Justice Subramonium Prasad, clarified that they do not possess the authority to create laws. In response, Upadhyay clarified that his request does not involve seeking directions from the Central government to create and enforce a new law. Instead, he seeks a direction for the law commission to prepare a report on tackling fabricated cases[1].

In the PIL, Upadhyay argued that this would deter and “massively reduce fake cases” if complainants are asked to undergo these tests while lodging complaints and making their statements in a charge sheet. The PIL argued that narco-analysis should not be considered as coercion since it is simply a method of extracting information by reducing inhibitions, and the entire process is documented with a report provided by doctors for further evaluation[2].

Written by- Aditya a student of ILSR, GLA University, Mathura, 2^nd Semester, an intern under Legal Vidhiya

[1] BAR AND BENCH, https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/not-joke-crpc-delhi-high-court-reserves-order-pil-narco-polygraph-test-complainants (last visited on 15^th May, 2023).

[2] ibid.

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