India's Supreme Court bans police use of 'truth drug'

INDIA'S highest court has ruled that the use of a "truth drug" by police for questioning suspects without their consent is illegal and a violation of their fundamental rights.

The Supreme Court judgment is significant because India's investigating agencies have used narcoanalysis, brain-mapping and polygraph tests in recent years in several criminal cases.

"We are of the considered opinion that no individual can be forced and subjected to such techniques involuntarily, and by doing so it amounts to unwarranted intrusion of personal liberty," the Press Trust of India quoted Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan as saying.

Police say that a trance-like state induced by the "truth drug" sodium penthanol makes it difficult for a person to lie during questioning. The court judgment was in response to petitions filed by several accused questioning the validity of such methods.

The court said a suspect's consent was necessary to do the test and even then it could not be treated as evidence, according to the Press Trust of India. However, the results could be used for further probing a criminal case.