Congress MP P Chidambaram on Wednesday, 6 April, termed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, "unconstitutional", adding that it violated the "liberty, privacy, and dignity" of people.
The bill, which enables investigating officers to collect the biometric details of prisoners, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. It was moved by Home Minister Amit Shah two days after it was passed in the Lok Sabha.
'Bill Goes Against 2 SC Judgements': Chidambaram
Questioning the constitutional validity of the bill, Chidambaram referred to a Supreme Court judgment from 2010 – in the case of Selvi vs the State of Karnataka – as a precedent that went against the validity of the bill.
"In the Selvi case, the court had said that polygraph, narco analysis, and brain electrical activation profile (BEAP) violate an individual's rights," the former finance minister asserted in Parliament.
He further said that since 2010, the law in India had stated that narco analysis, polygraph tests, and BEAP were unlawful and unconstitutional as they "violate liberty and privacy."
"This law, which the honourable Home Minister has introduced, goes directly against the pronouncement in the Selvi (case)," Chidambaram argued.
He further said that the bill also went against the Puttaswamy verdict in 2017, in which the court had stated that "an invasion of life and personal liberty" could be permitted subject to three criteria: legality, need, and proportionality.
Chidambaram argued that the bill did not satisfy any of the three criteria.
'Our Law Is Baccha': Shah
Arguing in favour of the bill, Amit Shah had said that it was moved to "improve the conviction rate in the country (and) protect the human rights of crores of law-abiding citizens."
"Our law is bachha (ineffective) in terms of strictness as compared to other nations. There are more stringent laws in countries like South Africa, the UK, Australia, Canada, and the US, which is why their conviction rate is better," the home minister had said.
The bill proposes to allow the police and prison authorities to collect, store, and analyse physical and biological samples, including the retina and iris scans, of not only convicts but also of those who the police consider suspects of a crime.
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