DNA Evidence In Crime Scene Investigation: Legal Challenges And Human Rights Concern
- IJLLR Journal
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Rajvir Singh, LL.M. Student, University Institute of Legal Studies, Chandigarh University, Gharuan, Mohali, Punjab, India
Dr. Renu Mahajan, Professor, University Institute of Legal Studies, Chandigarh University, Gharuan, Mohali, Punjab, India
ABSTRACT
The DNA evidence has significantly transformed the criminal law because it has provided the means through which individuals could be identified in a forensic manner. It is able to establish guilt and innocence. Its usage however, poses tricky ethical and legal concerns especially in India. This paper evaluates the use of DNA evidence through an analysis of its scientific base, the legal principles that guide the concept on whether it will be acceptable in the court, and evident human rights issues that it entails. The discussion relies on the major Indian court cases and an analogy with the rest of the global legal practice.The courts have been highly prolific in laying down standards and issue critical decisions that consider scientific truth instead of legal presumptions. Through the discussion, the issue of proper chain of custody has been emphasized as critical as a way of avoiding wrongful convictions. Any small replacement to this chain will affect the credibility of the evidence. The threats to one of the key human rights, to the basic right to privacy, are discussed in the article, and it is accepted in Article 21. Accumulations and storage of DNA data profiles undermine this right, particularly given the proposed legislations which might result in the establishment of a massive system of surveillance at the expense of having a database of individuals who may not have been found guilty. The moral implications derived out of using the DNA of dead persons and relatives are also not negligible. The article addresses the fine line between the interest of a state in criminal solutions, and a personal right against self-incrimination and a right to bodily integrity. Courts have held that no such objective can be obtained without a physical DNA sample, by force as such physical evidence is not testimonial evidence.The possibility of wrongful convictions because of poor evidence made through some procedural mistake and the analytical peculiarities is a very burning issue that questions the right to a fair trial. In this article, it is argued that although the introduction of DNA technology is an effective application, the efficacy requires a powerful, rights-safeguarding legal structure in India. This type of legislation must provide us with standardized criteria of collecting consent, restrict the use of DNA to mere purposes and an automatic process of erasing DNA profiles of the people who have not been convicted must be provided. It must also demand having an independent regulator within which the DNA database is governed to prevent abuse of the technology, making it fall into becoming a tool of mass surveillance and systemic injustice.
Keywords: DNA Evidence, Forensic Science, Criminal Justice, Legal Challenges, Miscarriage of Justice, Biological Samples.
