Mentor’s Comment

1. Start with the importance of  DNA technology.
2. Explain why the government think there is a need for such a bill.
3. State bill’s objective and features.
4. Discuss issues being raised.
5. Conclude suggesting some reforms to achieve a middle path.

Answer:
Cabinet has cleared the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill once again, paving the way for its reintroduction in Parliament. The Bill had been passed by Lok Sabha in January this year, but could not get the approval of Rajya Sabha. As a result, it lapsed once the tenure of the previous Lok Sabha expired last month.

Need for the legislation and its significance:
The utility of DNA based technologies for solving crimes, and to identify missing persons, is well recognized across the world. Therefore, the new bill aims to expand the application of DNA-based forensic technologies to support and strengthen the justice delivery system of the country.

Highlights of the Bill:
As per the Bill, national and regional DNA data bankswill be set up for maintaining a national database for identification of victims, suspects in cases, undertrials, missing persons and unidentified human remains.
Punishment: According to it, those leaking the DNA profile information to people or entities who are not entitled to have it, will be punished with a jail term of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs. 1 lakh. Similar, punishment has also been provided for those who seek the information on DNA profiles illegally.
Usage: As per the bill, all DNA data, including DNA profiles, DNA samples and records, will only be used for identification of the person and not for “any other purpose”.
The bill’s provisions will enable the cross-matching between persons who have been reported missing on the one hand and unidentified dead bodies found in various parts of the country on the other, and also for establishing the identity of victims in mass disasters.
The Bill establishes a DNA Regulatory Boardto accredit the DNA laboratories that analyse DNA samples to establish the identity of an individual.

Benefits of the Bill:
By providing for the mandatory accreditation and regulation of DNA laboratories, the Bill seeks to ensure that with the proposed expanded use of this technology in the country.
There is also the assurance that the DNA test results are reliable and the data remain protected from misuse or abuse in terms of the privacy rights of our citizens.

Issues with the DNA Database:
On data collection and deletion: At the time of collection of DNA data, the person will also have to provide their name, gender, address, and their caste.
It does not set a limit to how long someone’s DNA will keep on record. In the UK, DNA data of a recordable offence can be kept for only six years.
On data use: In most countries, the DNA database is used only for criminal investigations, but India’s bill allows for a lot more.
For instance, it can be used to identify victims of accidents or disasters, to identify missing persons, and for civil disputes.
On privacy: Setting up of such large databases is fraught with problems.
For instance, the law that allowed the UK to setup a DNA database also allowed keeping data of more than one million innocent people on what was considered a criminal database.
With India’s poor record on citizen privacy, the lax provisions in the draft bill are worrying.
On reliability: There are some circumstances when even DNA data may not be reliable.
Infrastructure bottlenecks: India is not having advance infrastructure in implementation of these laws.
The Bill’s proposed DNA Regulatory Board is still too powerful and insufficiently transparent or accountable.

Way Forward:
It is absolutely essential that the people from whom DNA is taken give their informed consent; taking DNA surreptitiously should be prohibited.
A court order should be required for obtaining DNA without informed consent and the DNA should only be compared with the crime scene DNA for the suspect.
Those who are cleared for a crime should not have their DNA information stored, and DNA gathered from offenders should be destroyed after identification so that such information is not used for profiling in future.
Privacy issue can be handled by adopting the best practices from the world.
For instance at the time of collection of DNA data, the person provide basic information. It does not set a limit to how long someone’s DNA will keep on record.
In countries like UK, DNA data of a recordable offence can be kept for only six year. This can also be adopted in India for better results.
The Law Commissions report related to scientific collection of data need to be incorporated.
Maintenance of strict confidentiality with regard to keeping of records of DNA profiles and their use as recommended by Malimath report can be followed.
Safeguard to prevent illegal collection and use of DNA data as stated by A. P. Shah Committee.
Need for robust process and structure for collection of DNA samples from crime scene to the laboratory for analysis, to the DNA Bank for storage and comparison.
Consideration should be given to an independent forensic science regulator to ensure oversight of both laboratory quality assurance and crime scene examination.
The Board’s responsibilities for privacy protections need an independent regulator: the easiest way to achieve this would be prior adoption of a privacy or data protection bill (which includes a role for a data protection officer).
There is also a need for elimination databases for police, crime scene examiners and laboratory workers, whose DNA may contaminate the evidence they touch.

DNA Profiling has immense scope for ensuring quick and effective justice to people. The need of hour is research and devising ways for proper functioning of these technologies. Also, there is need for effective regulation in ensuring Justice without compromising with right to privacy. Therefore, the Bill needs further improvement, and full parliamentary scrutiny should be utilised to achieve that end.