Collection of DNA samples will lead to misuse "EMPOWER IAS"

Context: 

• Allowing investigating agencies to collect DNA samples from “suspects” as laid down in the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill 2019, will give them “unbridled power that is easily capable of misuse and abuse”.
• It amounts to a “threat to the life, liberty, dignity and privacy of a person”.
• These observations have been made by a retired Supreme Court judge in a written submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology.

 

Background:

• DNA testing is currently being done on an extremely limited scale in India, with approximately 30-40 DNA experts in 15-18 laboratories undertaking less than 3000 cases a year. 
• The standards of the laboratories are not monitored or regulated. 
• The Bill aims to introduce the regulation of the entire process from collection to storage.

 

Objections over the bill:

• Storage of DNA samples: The preamble of the bill says that it aims to provide for “the regulation of use and application of Deoxyribonucleic Acid [DNA] technology for the purposes of establishing the identity of certain categories of persons including the victims, offenders, suspects, undertrials, missing persons and unknown deceased persons.”
• DNA profiling: In a blind crime or a crime involving a large number of persons (such as a riot) everybody is suspect, without any real basis. Which will mean that thousands of persons can be subjected to DNA profiling on a mere suspicion.
• The provisions of the bill can lead to targeting of select groupings, including social, linguistic, religious and other minorities on the ground of being suspects.
• There are other clauses of concern, including not creating separate data banks for civil and criminal matters. 
• This will result in a presumption against the person, even though they have not consented to giving their DNA sample for use in the criminal investigation.

 

DNA Technology (Use And Application) Regulation Bill, 2019:

DNA Profiling

• Deoxyribonucleic acid, commonly known as DNA, is the hereditary complex molecule present in humans and almost all other organisms.
• Nearly every cell in a multicellular organism possesses the full set of DNA required for that organism. Most DNA molecules consist of two bio polymer strands coiled around each other to form a double helix. The two strands are called polynucleotides since they are composed of simpler monomeric units called nucleotides.
• Each nucleotide is composed of one of four chemical bases: cytosine (C), guanine (G), adenine (A), thymine (T).
• It also has a sugar called deoxyribose and a phosphate group. These nucleotides create proteins that is needed for the cell.
• DNA contains all of the information necessary to build and maintain an organism including biological information.
• Although 99.9% of human DNA sequences are the same in every person, some of the DNA is unique that makes it possible to distinguish one individual from another.
• DNA can be extracted from the saliva, hair, blood samples, any small amount of the muscles or tissues of a person, nail scraping.
• DNA’s molecular structure was first identified by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953. They won the nobel prize for the same in 1962.
• With time, DNA technology evolved and in 1984, Bristish scientist Sir Alec John Jeffrey discovered the modern technology of DNA profiling.
• DNA Profiling is the process of determining an individual characteristics and most commonly used as a forensic technology to identify a person.

 

Benefits of DNA Profiling

• Through DNA profiling technique, heinous crimes can be easily solved.
• It can also help to nab criminals.
• DNA profiles taken from the place of crime can be matched with the samples of criminals arrested even after several years.
• This technique is very effective in identifying accident victims, missing people or identifying disaster victims.
• The identification of parents is also possible with the use of the DNA profiling.

 

 

DNA Profiling Bill and India

• DNA evidence was first accepted by the Indian courts in 1985, but it was not till January, 2019 that a bill on the issue was first introduced in Parliament and even passed by the Lok Sabha.
• The initiative to draft a bill regulating the use of DNA samples for crime related reasons began in the year 2003.
• The Department of Biotechnology established a committee known as the DNA Profiling Advisory Committee to make recommendations for the drafting of the DNA profiling bill 2006. This eventually became the Human DNA Profiling Bill, 2007.
• The 2007 draft bill was prepared by the Department of Biotechnology along with the Union Government for DNA fingerprinting and diagnostics.
• In 2007, the draft Human DNA Profiling was made public. However, it was never introduced in the Parliament. It was criticized by civil society members and non-government organizations for not addressing the privacy concerns.
• In 2013, the Department of Biotechnology formulated an expert committee to deliberate on concerns raised about the bill and also to finalize the text.
• In 2015, the government planned to table the bill in the Parliament during its monsoon session but did not do so due to widespread criticism over privacy and data security safeguards.
• In 2016, the Use and Regulation of DNA based technology in Civil and Criminal Proceedings, Identification of Missing Persons and Human Remains Bill was listed for introduction, consideration and passing. Activists and experts raised concerns over the 2016 version of the bill as well.
• They raised questions of how the bill plans to safeguard the privacy of those whose DNA profiles will be stored in the databank, the safeguards the samples and data banks will have against contamination and theft and the terms of use and availability of the profiles among law enforcement officials, scientists and foreign agencies.
• However, in 2016, Andhra Pradesh became the first state in India to start DNA profiling to stop crimes.
• In 2018, the Law Commision of India in its 271^st report prepared the draft bill named the DNA Based Technology (Use and Regulation) Bill 2017.
• The commission examined various judicial pronouncements and constitutional provisions and recorded that DNA profiling was indeed used for disaster victim identification, investigations of crime, identification of missing persons and human remains and also for medical research purposes.
• However, it also flagged the privacy concerns and the ethics involved in this scientific collection of data were very high.
• The commission said the procedure for DNA profiling if given statutory recognition should be done legitimately as per the constitutional provisions.