SC Declares Involuntary Narco Test as Unconstitutional | 15 Dec 2025

Source: TH

Why in News? 

The Supreme Court (SC) of India has ruled that any forced or involuntary narco test is unconstitutional, setting aside a 2025 Patna High Court order that allowed such a test in Amlesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2025).

What is a Narco Test?

• About: A narco test is an investigative technique in which the accused is administered sedative drugs such as barbiturates (a class of sedative-hypnotic drugs) like Sodium Pentothal to lower inhibitions.
  • The aim is to extract concealed information by reducing reasoning and conscious control.
  • It is considered a non-violent investigative method, similar to polygraph and brain-mapping tests.
• Forced Narco Tests: They violate individual autonomy, a core principle of natural justice, and ethical philosophy, including Immanuel Kant’s ideas, holds that actions without consent are morally invalid. 
  • In a democratic criminal justice system, justice requires balancing victims’ rights with the rights of the accused, and any compromise of protection against self-incrimination and personal liberty undermines constitutional morality.
• Constitutional Protections: 
  • Article 20(3): Protection against self-incrimination and no accused can be compelled to testify against oneself.
  • Article 21: Guarantees life, personal liberty, and the right to privacy, and any such test without the express consent of the person (accused) would violate it.
    • A democratic criminal justice system must balance victims’ rights with the accused’s rights. 
  • Article 21, along with Articles 14 and 19, forms the Golden Triangle of the Constitution, as held in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978). 
    • Any violation of the Right to Privacy therefore amounts to a violation of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty, disrupting this core constitutional framework.
• Legal Provisions: A person may voluntarily opt for a narco test at the defence stage under Section 253 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. However, there is no absolute or indefeasible right to demand such a test.
• Judicial Pronouncements:
  • Selvi v. State of Karnataka (2010): SC held that narco tests without free consent are unconstitutional; results are not admissible as evidence.
  • Amlesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2025): SC struck down forced narco testing.
  • Manoj Kumar Saini v. State of MP (2023) and Vinobhai v. State of Kerala (2025): SC held that narco test results do not prove guilt and require corroboration with independent evidence and such tests cannot be treated as substantive evidence.