No person can be forced to undergo narco analysis against his will. It is based on this fundamental right that the Bombay High Court stayed a Pune court’s order allowing the test on the lawyer accused in the murder of social activist, Satish Shetty.
The division bench of Justice Ranjana
Desai and Justice Mridula Bhatkar has asked the police to file a reply in a week.
The accused, Vijay Dabhade (45), approached the high court after a metropolitan magistrate in Talegaon allowed the police to conduct a narco analysis test on him against his wish.
Shetty, an RTI activist who exposed several cases of land grab in Pune, was killed in Talegaon on January 13.
The police arrested Dabhade on January 15 after initial investigations revealed that Shetty had exposed some of his illegal activities. On January 18, the police applied for the magistrate’s permission to conduct narco analysis on Dabhade. The magistrate granted permission despite Dabhade’s opposition.
Dabhade moved the HC contending that the test involves injecting psychotropic substances, which could be dangerous. His petition states that the order of the magistrate is bad in law because it was passed without his consent and violates his fundamental rights. Dabhade’s argued that an accused’s statement recorded during narco analysis is not admissible in court as evidence.