POLYGRAPH TEST
1. Context
Days after a Delhi court agreed to a narco test, the Delhi Police approached a court to conduct a polygraph test on Aaftab Poonawala, suspected of killing his partner Shraddha Walkar, to help investigators find the missing weapon and other evidence in the murder case.
2. Polygraph Test
- A polygraph test is based on the assumption that physiological responses that are triggered when a person is lying are different from what they would be otherwise.
- Instruments like cardio-cuffs or sensitive electrodes are attached to the person, and variables such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, change in sweat gland activity, blood flow, etc., are measured as questions are put to them.
- A numerical value is assigned to each response to conclude whether the person is telling the truth, is deceiving, or is uncertain.
3. Are such tests Accurate?
- Neither polygraph tests nor narco tests have been proven scientifically to have a 100% success rate, and remain contentious in the medical field as well.
- However, recently, investigating agencies have sought to employ these tests in investigation, and they are sometimes seen as being a “softer alternative” to torture or ‘third degree’ to extract the truth from suspects.
4. Legality of the test in India
- In ‘Selvi & Ors vs State of Karnataka & Anr’ (2010), a Supreme Court Bench comprising CJI ruled that no lie detector tests should be administered “except on the basis of the consent of the accused”.
- Those who volunteer must have access to a lawyer, and have the physical, emotional, and legal implications of the test explained to them by police and the lawyer, the Bench said.
- It said that the ‘Guidelines for the Administration of Polygraph Test on an Accused’ published by the National Human Rights Commission in 2000, must be strictly followed.
- The subject’s consent should be recorded before a judicial magistrate, the court said.
5. Constitutional Aspects
- The SC cited Article 20 (3) or Right against self-incrimination which states that no accused can be compelled to be a witness against himself.
- In the D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal case, 1997, the SC ruled that involuntary administration of the polygraph and narcos test will amount to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in the context of Article 21 or the Right to Life and Liberty.
- It may also be violative of the Right to privacy which is a part of the Right to Life.
- The Indian Evidence Act, 1871 does not admit the results of these tests as evidence.
- The National Human Rights Commission in 1999 adopted a set of guidelines relating to the administration of the Polygraph Test which included consent, recording of the test, etc.
For Mains
| For Mains: 1.What is Polygraph test and explain how polygraph test works?Discuss the ethical issues associated with the polygraph test? |
Source: The Indian Express
