Narco-Analysis Judgment: Selvi v Karnataka

The full text of the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Selvi v State of Karnataka is available here. I have not read the judgment yet, but media reports suggest that the Court has held that involuntary subjection of a person to narco-analysis, polygraph test and brain-mapping violates Article 20(3) of the Constitution, which provides that ‘No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.’ (the ‘right to silence’). The Court has, apparently, also held that even when a person volunteers to be subject to these tests, their result cannot be admitted as evidence in a court of law.

Written by
Tarunabh Khaitan
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