In the recently concluded Budget session, Parliament cleared the The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 which will replace the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920.

The conviction rates in India are abysmally low in comparison to countries like US, UK, South Africa, Canada etc.

Let’s understand how the bill will:

  1. Aid police during investigation of crimes?
  2. Increase the conviction rate, thereby helping make Indian society safer?

The major highlights of the bill are as follows

  1. As per 1920 act only Fingerprints, foot-print impressions, photographs of the arrested persons or convicted criminals can be collected. However, as per the new act, (i) biological samples, and their analysis, (ii) behavioral attributes including signatures, handwriting, and (iii) blood, semen, hair samples, and swabs, and analyses such as DNA profiling of the arrested persons and convicts can be collected by a police officer not below the rank of a head constable.
  2. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will be the central agency to maintain the above records. Further, states/UTs may notify agencies to collect, preserve, and share data in their respective jurisdictions. The records can be maintained for 75 years. It will share the data with law enforcement agencies. For e.g., a theft occurs and in the scene some hair samples are found. The Police is empowered to a DNA profiling of the hair samples and get information from NCRB about the details of the person with whom the DNA sample matches. If a match is found from the records of NCRB, then that can be used as an evidence in the court against the person. Earlier, the police was not entitled to collect other biological samples, nor there was a centralized database from where the criminals’ data could be obtained.

What will be the long term impact?

  1. Police having access to other biological data will make investigation, justice delivery faster. The court cases wont drag so long.
  2. Third degree methods used by police will reduce as they will rely on scientific means of investigation.
  3. Many criminals go scot free due to lack of scientific methods of investigation. With new technologies in hand, getting scot free will become tougher. Conviction rates will hence increase.

For more information refer here.

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