{"id":63527,"date":"2025-09-15T11:21:25","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T05:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=63527"},"modified":"2025-09-15T11:21:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T05:51:25","slug":"supreme-court-guidelines-on-dna-evidence-rules-rulings-and-importance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/supreme-court-guidelines-on-dna-evidence-rules-rulings-and-importance\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Guidelines on DNA Evidence: Rules, Rulings, and Importance"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Supreme Court DNA Guidelines Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><b><i>Kattavellai @ Devakar v. State of Tamil N<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">adu<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Supreme Court mandated strict protocols for DNA evidence in criminal cases.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It directed all State DGPs to prepare Chain of Custody Register forms and related documentation, and circulate them to all districts with clear instructions to ensure the integrity and reliability of DNA samples.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Need for Uniform DNA Handling Guidelines<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kattavellai @ Devakar<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> case, involving rape, murder, and robbery, the Supreme Court found serious lapses, including unexplained delays in sending vaginal swab samples to the Forensic Science Laboratory and failure to establish a clear chain of custody.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These gaps raised the possibility of contamination. The Court noted that while some bodies had issued guidelines, there was neither uniformity nor a common procedure across states.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given that <\/span><b>\u2018Police\u2019 and \u2018Public Order\u2019 fall under the State List<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Court still found it essential to issue uniform directions to ensure consistency and reliability in DNA evidence handling nationwide.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Supreme Court\u2019s Guidelines on Handling DNA Evidence<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court laid down <\/span><b>four key guidelines<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to ensure the integrity of DNA evidence in criminal cases.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>First,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> DNA samples must be collected with due care, properly packaged with FIR details, case particulars, and duly documented with signatures of the medical professional, investigating officer, and independent witnesses.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Second,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the investigating officer must transport the samples to the concerned police station or hospital and ensure they reach the Forensic Science Laboratory within 48 hours; any delay must be explained with preservation measures taken.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Third,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> once stored, samples cannot be opened, altered, or resealed without trial court authorisation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, a <\/span><b>Chain of Custody Register<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> must be maintained from collection until conviction or acquittal, appended to the trial record, with the investigating officer accountable for any lapses.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Supreme Court\u2019s Rulings on DNA Evidence<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court has consistently stressed that DNA evidence, though powerful, must meet strict standards of collection and handling.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><b><i>Anil v. State of Maharashtra<\/i><\/b><b> (2014)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it upheld DNA profiling as valid and reliable, provided laboratory procedures maintain quality control.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><b><i>Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (2022), a DNA report was rejected due to contamination risk from recovery in an open area and insufficient, degraded blood samples.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, in <\/span><b><i>Rahul v. State of Delhi<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (2022), DNA evidence was discarded because it remained in police custody for two months, raising suspicion of tampering.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Devakar<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> case, the Court emphasised that quality control outside laboratories \u2014 in collection, sealing, and timely dispatch \u2014 is as critical as lab procedure.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus, both investigating agencies and forensic experts must ensure rigorous safeguards to maintain credibility of DNA evidence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Importance of DNA Evidence in Criminal Cases<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNA, derived from biological materials like blood, bone, semen, saliva, hair, or skin, helps establish whether a crime scene sample matches a suspect.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While such matches can strongly indicate common biological origin, the Supreme Court in the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Devakar<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> case clarified that <\/span><b>DNA is only opinion evidence under Section 45 of the Evidence Act<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (now Section 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its probative value depends on the circumstances of each case. Thus, DNA evidence is significant but not conclusive, and must be scientifically validated and legally established to hold weight in criminal proceedings.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court\u2019s guidelines on DNA evidence aim to ensure reliability, prevent contamination, and strengthen criminal justice.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their success depends on consistent enforcement by police and forensic agencies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n<b>Source:<\/b> <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.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TH<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/sc-guidelines-dna-evidence-10136738\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Explore Supreme Court guidelines on DNA evidence, uniform handling rules, key rulings, and why DNA is vital yet opinion-based in criminal justice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":63561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,2695,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-63527","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-supreme-court-dna-guidelines","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}