{"id":54138,"date":"2025-09-15T19:19:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T13:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=54138"},"modified":"2025-09-17T11:42:40","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T06:12:40","slug":"sc-guidelines-dna-evidence-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-09-2025\/sc-guidelines-dna-evidence-cases","title":{"rendered":"The SC issued Guidelines for Cases where DNA Evidence is Involved"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court, in <strong>Kattavellai @ Devakar v. State of Tamil Nadu,<\/strong> recently issued guidelines to maintain the <strong>integrity of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples<\/strong> in criminal cases.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of DNA Evidence in Criminal Cases<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>DNA <\/strong>is a molecule that encodes the <strong>genetic information in all living organisms.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It can be obtained from <strong>biological materials, such as bone, blood, semen, saliva, hair, or skin.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Generally, when the <strong>DNA profile of a sample<\/strong> found at a crime scene <strong>matches the DNA profile of a suspect,<\/strong> it can be concluded that both samples have the same biological origin. However, it is<strong> not substantive evidence in criminal cases.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the Devakar case, the Supreme Court <\/strong>said that DNA evidence is only an <strong>expert\u2019s opinion<\/strong> (under Section 45 of the Evidence Act \/ Section 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Like any opinion, its value changes from case to case.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>So, DNA evidence cannot be accepted blindly; it must be properly proved <strong>both scientifically and legally<\/strong> before a court relies on it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need for the SC Direction<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Procedural Delays:<\/strong> The court found significant unexplained delays in sending samples to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for DNA analysis.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Also, the chain of custody of the sample could not be established so, under such circumstances the <strong>possibility of sample contamination could not be ruled out.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of Uniformity:<\/strong> Although some guidelines have been issued by various bodies, there is neither uniformity nor a common procedure required to be followed by all investigating authorities.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Guidelines of SC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court issued<strong> four guidelines for cases where DNA evidence is involved.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Procedure for Collection: <\/strong>The document recording the collection must include the signatures and designations of the medical professional present, the investigating officer, and independent witnesses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transportation: <\/strong>The investigating officer shall be responsible for the transportation of the DNA evidence (sample) to the concerned police station or hospital.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Samples must reach the concerned FSL within 48 hours of collection.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the event of any delay, the reasons must be recorded, and all efforts should be made to preserve the samples.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Handling of Sample: <\/strong>While samples are stored pending trial or appeal, no package shall be opened, altered, or resealed without express authorisation from the trial court.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chain of Custody Register: <\/strong>From the time of collection to the logical end, i.e., conviction or acquittal of the accused, a Chain of Custody Register must be maintained.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This register must be appended to the trial court record. The investigating officer is responsible for explaining any lapses in compliance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Previous Judgements of SC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In Anil v. State of Maharashtra (2014),<\/strong> the Supreme Court observed that a DNA profile is valid and reliable, but this depends on quality control and procedure in the laboratory.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In Manoj and Ors. v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2022),<\/strong> the Supreme Court rejected a DNA report on the ground that recovery was made \u2018from an open area and the likelihood of its contamination cannot be ruled out\u2019.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In Rahul v. State of Delhi, Ministry of Home Affairs (2022),<\/strong> DNA evidence was \u2018rejected because it remained in the police Malkhana for two months and during such time, the possibility of tampering could not be ruled out\u2019.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Though \u2018Police\u2019 and \u2018Public Order\u2019 fall under the State List, the Supreme Court issued guidelines to ensure uniform procedures.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It stressed that both sample collection by the investigating agency (free from contamination and delay) and quality control in the FSL are crucial for reliable results.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/science\/what-do-sc-guidelines-say-on-dna-explained\/article70048846.ece#:~:text=The%20Supreme%20Court%2C%20in%20the,varies%20from%20case%20to%20case.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Supreme Court, in Kattavellai @ Devakar v. State of Tamil Nadu, recently issued guidelines to maintain the integrity of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples in criminal cases.\u00a0<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Significance of DNA Evidence in Criminal Cases<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">DNA is a molecule that encodes the genetic information in all living organisms.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It can be obtained from biological materials, such as bone, blood, semen, saliva, hair, or skin.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Generally, when the DNA profile of a sample found at a crime scene matches the DNA profile of a suspect, it can be concluded that both samples have the same biological origin. However, it is not substantive evidence in criminal cases.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">In the Devakar case, the Supreme Court said that DNA evidence is only an expert\u2019s opinion (under Section 45 of the Evidence Act \/ Section 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023).<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-09-2025\/sc-guidelines-dna-evidence-cases\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":54189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/09\/sc-guidelines-dna-evidence-cases.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54138"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54171,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54138\/revisions\/54171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}