Home Minister Amit Shah today assured Rajya Sabha that rules will be framed to ensure that new provisions of the criminal identification law are not used against political detenu, but political persons arrested for criminal cases could not be given the concession.

Replying to a debate on the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, which was later passed by the Upper House, he said there should no undue fear about the misuse of the law. The law was intended to bring to justice those involved in serious crime only, he said.

An amendment to refer the Bill to a Select Committee moved by Tiruchi Siva (DMK) was defeated as there were only 59 votes in its favour and 97 against it.

Just because there are apprehensions in some quarters, the Government could not abdicate its responsibility to secure justice for the innocent, the Home Minister said.

“What is the fear about? You should have no doubts on the misuse of the law. Even I can have a fear of misuse. There are courts. We cannot allow the innocent to suffer because of lack of evidence,” he said.

The Home Minister said times are over when the agencies depended on third degree only, “we have to take the agencies to the next stage of technology and scientific aids.” For some fears, the innocent could not be denied justice.

Courts are telling the prosecution agencies for evidence every day and this delays the process of justice, he said. The poor suffer endlessly. The law enforcement agencies needed the latest scientific aids for speedy investigations and to provide timely evidence before courts, he said.

The Home Minister gave data to show that in more than 60 per cent criminal cases, there was no conviction in the country. In several advanced countries, where the latest techniques were adopted, the conviction rates were UK 84 percent, Australia at 97 percent, and the United States at 93 percent.

The Home Minister expressed surprise that those opposing the Bill did not say anything to improve the conviction rate of crime in the country

The Bill proposed that any person convicted, arrested, or detained under any preventive detention law will be required to provide his “measurements” to a police officer or a prison official as that could help future investigations.

These measurements include, besides fingerprints and footprints, photographs, palm prints, iris and retina scan, physical and biological samples, and their analysis.

Several members expressed doubts about the violation of human rights and the infringement of the privacy rights of people. The Home Minister said there will be no violation of privacy rights. Rules will be made so see there are no “loopholes” that can be exploited.

He however said the members should understand that when bombs explode, there are human rights of those who are killed and injured and these rights are to be protected.

Replying to P Chidambaram of the Congress, he said brain mapping is not envisaged in this law. Addressing the Congress members, the Home Minister said “You are evaluating every action of the Government in terms of misuse; probably you had misused laws, we are not for it.”

The members had quoted Supreme Court judgments selectively, he said. Freedom is to be enjoyed only up to the point when it does not encroach on others’ freedom. “Swatantra (freedom) does not mean swachandta (no control),” he said.

Shah said all data will be kept in the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and can only be requested by the investigating agencies. It will be in protected hardware. Storage will have no third party or private agencies, NCRB alone with managing it, with a high-level committee, and the system will run under an experts committee.