Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced a bill in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday to provide police legal authority to take physical and biological samples of convicts and other people suspected of criminal activity.
The Lok Sabha passed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, on Monday, which would replace the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920. The bill aims to improve the inquiry process by infusing technology improvements into the 100-year-old statute, Amit shah said.
The current statute, which was drafted during the British era is insufficient in modern times. The proposed law attempts to increase the number of criminals convicted.
The law establishes a legal framework for taking suitable body measurements of people who are obligated to do so, which will improve the efficiency and speed of criminal investigations while also increasing the conviction rate. The Identification of Prisoners Act of 1920 was passed to allow for the measurement and photographing of prisoners and other individuals.
The phrase "measurements," as used in the 1920 Act, is confined to the taking of finger and foot impressions of a small number of convicted and non-convicted people, as well as pictures on a magistrate's order. The term of "measurements" ' used in the said Act is limited to permit for taking of finger and foot-print impressions of limited category of convicted and non-convicted persons and photographs on the order of a magistrate.
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