The story so far: In April 2022, the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act (CrPI) was passed by Parliament. The Act enables police and central investigating agencies to collect, store and analyse physical and biological samples including retina and iris scans of arrested persons. The rules that would govern the Act were notified in September 2022. However, the Act is yet to be implemented fully as the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the nodal agency, is still preparing the guidelines and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to implement the legislation. The NCRB operates under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Though the Act and rules do not distinctly mention collection of DNA samples and face-matching procedures, in subsequent meetings with State police officials, the NCRB has said that these measures will be rolled out in around 1,300 locations across the country.
Why was the legislation brought in?
The CrPI Act repealed the British-era Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 whose scope was limited to collecting and recording finger impressions, footprint impressions and photographs of certain category of convicted persons and impressions of non-convicted persons on the orders of a Magistrate. The government said the new Act made provisions for the use of modern techniques to capture and record appropriate body measurements.
