Author: Chinmay Chaturvedi, National Forensic Sciences University
All you need to know about the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022
As the society has progressed, so has arisen a need for development of the pre-existing laws. Keeping in mind the dynamic relationship between law and society, a hundred-year-old law is subject to greater misuse as compared to a recent law. Laws need to be changed according to the changes in society. For instance, back in the 18th century, there was no concept of cybercrimes, but here we are in the 21st century, framing laws for the protection of cyberspace. Keeping in mind this concept, the government recently introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha.
The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 28, 2022, seeks to replace the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920. The former act allowed police officers to collect certain identifiable information (fingerprints and footprints) of the people involved in the case, both accused and the victim, and all material was to be destroyed in case of acquittal or discharge of the person. Here are some key features of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022: -
The bill lays emphasis on-
The type of information that may be collected.
Persons from whom such data may be collected, and
The authority that may authorize such a collection.
The table given below states the differences between the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 and the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022: -
Also,
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will be the central agency to manage the data collected under this bill. It will share this data with the law enforcement agencies. Further, states/UTs may notify agencies to collect, preserve, and share data in their respective jurisdictions.
The data collected will be retained in electronic form for a period of 75 years. Records will be destroyed in case of acquittal or persons after all appeals, or being released after trial. However, a Court or Magistrate may direct the retention of the data after recording reasons in writing.
There are also various issues to consider: -
The Bill may violate Right to Privacy as well as Equality
The right to privacy has been recognized as a fundamental right by the Supreme Court of India in Puttaswamy v Union of India (2017). The bill allows the collection of personal data of individuals for investigation of crime, and this data is protected under the right to privacy of individuals. The court laid out principles that should govern any law that restricts this right. These include a public purpose, a rational nexus of the law with the purpose, and non-arbitrariness. The Bill may fail this test on several parameters. The Bill may also fail Article 14 requirements of a law to be fair and reasonable and for equality under law. There are two major issues that arise.
Data can be collected not just from a person convicted for the offence but also all other persons arrested and from any other person to aid investigation.
The data collected does not need to have any relationship with evidence required for the case
The data is stored for 75 years in a central database which can be accessed widely and not just in the case file, and
Safeguards have been diluted by lowering the level of the official authority of collecting data.
Persons whose data may be collected
The Bill expands the scope of persons whose data may be collected to include persons convicted or arrested for an offence. The Bill also increases the power of the Magistrate to order collection from any person (earlier from only those who were arrested) to aid investigation.
Persons who may order data to be collected
Under the 1920 Act, only the magistrate had the power to order the collection of data in order to aid investigation of an offence. The 1980 Law Commission report remarked that the Magistrate did not need to give reasons for his order. It recommended that the provision be amended to require the Magistrate to record reasons for giving the order. The 2022 Bill does not have any such safeguards. Instead, it lowers the level of the police officer who may collect the data, and even allows the head warden of a prison to take the measurements. But it should also be kept in mind that the technological advancement in the country is going on at such a pace that in the coming future even a head warden will become able to collect the information.
What data may be collected
The Bill widens the ambit of data to be collected from just fingerprints, footprints and photographs to include biometrics (fingerprints, footprints, iris and retina scan), physical and biological samples (not defined in the bill but may include blood, semen, saliva, etc.) and behavioural attributes (signature, handwriting, voice samples, etc.). Also, the Bill does not specify a particular data collection for a particular crime. For instance, the handwriting specimen of a victim of rash and negligent driving may be collected. It should be noted that Section 53 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that collection of biological samples and their analysis may be done only if there are reasonable grounds for believing that such examination will add to the evidence for investigation of a case.
Overall, the Bill comes as a boon to aid in the investigation process and help reduce the pendency of cases in Indian courts. However, there are a few provisions which seem to be unconstitutional, but keeping in mind the development that our society has undergone, the society needs this bill.
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Source: - The Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920
The Criminal Procedure Identification Bill, 2022.
The article is very helpful and informative.
ReplyDeleteA move towards widening criminal database in the country.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making me aware of such an important issue.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making me aware of such an important issue.
ReplyDelete