The search for effective aids to interrogation is probably as old as man’s need to obtain information. Since time immemorial, man has been dreaming to know the truth of events. A few years back, things like ‘truth serum’ used to be the stuff of James Bond, Cold War, and KGB. It was hard to imagine that things like the administration of sodium pentothal and admissibility of narcoanalysis would have to be dealt with in the arena of law as a serious issue. The legal system should imbibe developments and advances that take place in science as long as they do not violate the fundamental legal principles and are for the good of the society. The main issue is the question of admissibility of narcoanalysis as a scientific technique in investigations and its ultimate admissibility in Court as forensic evidence. The Indian criminal justice system has an alarmingly low conviction rate and the situation needs to be rectified with emphasis on real science and state-of-the-art technology. It is time our legislature and judiciary acted immediately for the sake of justice and fair procedure to bring narcoanalysis within the scope of Article 20(3) of the Constitution.

Development of new tools of investigation has led to the emergence of scientific tools of interrogation like the Narcoanalysis test. Law is a living process which changes according to changes in the society, science and ethics and so on. Our legal system should be tuned to the developments and advances that take place in science to counter the increasing number of criminal activities in the present-day scenario, where sophisticated and modern techniques are used to commit a crime. When conventional methods like questioning may not lead us to any result, methods like narcoanalysis act as a boon to the investigating procedure. Narcoanalysis has become an increasingly, perhaps alarmingly common term in India. It refers to the process of psychotherapy conducted on a subject by inducing a sleep-like state with the aid of barbiturates or other drugs. In a spate of high-profile cases, such as those of the Nithari killers1 and the Mumbai train blasts,2 suspects have been whisked away to undergo an interview, drugged with the barbiturate sodium pentothal. This practice has also garnered support of certain state governments as well the judiciary.

Narcoanalysis
The term Narco3 analysis is derived from the Greek word Narke—meaning— ‘anaesthesia’ or ‘torpor’ and is used to describe a diagnostic and psychotherapeutic technique that uses psychotropic drugs, particularly barbiturates to induce a stupor in which mental elements with associated affects come to the surface, where they can be exploited by the therapist.

Law Review Journal, Protection, Admissibility, Narcoanalysis, Forensic, Evidence, The Bangalore Forensic Sciences Laboratory (BFSL), Sree Sayaji General (SSG), Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).