Parliament panel endorses DNA profiling Bill, but with riders

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 3

The parliamentary standing committee on science and technology on Wednesday endorsed The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill-2019 that seeks to regulate the use of DNA in solving heinous crimes, finding missing persons and identifying disaster victims, but proposed key riders.

GOVERNMENT TAKE

• DNA profiles to be stored are not for an entire population but for specified categories — convicts and suspects of major crimes and relatives of missing persons.
• The information to be stored does not reveal race, caste, facial features of individuals. Profiles from living individuals shall be stored after their informed consent except in case of profiles from offenders and suspects.

In its report to Parliament, the committee headed by Congress’ Jairam Ramesh differed with the government on the definition of DNA profiling and the composition of DNA Regulatory Body which it said must be headed by an independent genetic expert rather than a union secretary, as currently proposed in the Bill.

CAN’T RULE OUT CASTE PROFILING: OWAISI

• Two panel members AIMIM’s Asadudin Owaisi and CPI’s Binoy Viswam dissented with the panel questioning the Bill in the absence of data protection law.
• “With the criminal justice system disproportionately incarcerating Dalits, Muslims and tribals, targeted discrimination will be encoded into this law.
• The panel should have recommended deletion of references to the inclusion of DNA data of non convicts, including suspects and undertrials,” Owaisi said.

The panel has recommended deletion of government’s definition of DNA profile – “DNA profile is the result of analysis of a DNA sample for establishing human identification” – and proposed a new definition that says “DNA profile means a DNA pattern that establishes only the genetic identity of offenders, missing persons or unknown deceased persons, and not their characteristics such as physical appearance, behaviour or health status”.

The panel’s major suggestions include rephrasing the Bill as The DNA (Use and Application in Justice Delivery System) Regulation Bill, 2021; deleting clauses for establishing regional data banks (panel says National DNA databank is enough for DNA storage); DNA collection from arrested persons only after they are personally heard by a magistrate rather than on written consent as currently proposed.

The Bill allows creation of national and regional DNA banks to store biological information of persons under five indices — crime scene index; suspects or undertrials index; offenders index; missing persons and unknown deceased persons index.

Justifying the draft law, the government says DNA technology has the potential of wide application in the justice delivery systems and investigation of crimes through biological evidence — semen in rape cases, blood in murder cases, saliva in case of anonymous threats. “Several crimes are committed by repeat offenders. Their apprehension will be aided by comparison of biological evidence at the scene of crime with DNA profiles stored in a DNA Data Bank. In civil cases, DNA evidence helps in identifying disaster victims besides aiding in finding missing persons,” the draft Bill states.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports 40,000 unidentified bodies per year and 1,00,000 missing children annually. The Bill seeks to regulateDNA labs and penalise unauthorised sharing of DNA information with jail up to three years and Rs 1 lakh fine. Destruction of evidence can attract jail up to five years and Rs 2 lakh fine.