Article 20(3) (Indian Constitution)
Definition
The constitutional provision that states no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against themselves. India's Supreme Court in Selvi v State of Karnataka interpreted this to cover compelled narco-analysis, polygraph, and BEAP testing, on the ground that each procedure compels a mental contribution that may incriminate the subject.
- Instrument
- Constitution of India
- Provision
- Article 20(3)
- Guarantee
- Protection against self-incrimination
- Landmark case
- Selvi v State of Karnataka
- Effect on technique
- Bars compelled narco-analysis, polygraph, BEAP without consent
Common questions
What specifically did Selvi hold about these three techniques?+
The Supreme Court held that narco-analysis, polygraph examination, and Brain Electrical Activation Profiling all involve compelling a subject's mind to make a testimonial contribution, so administering them without the subject's free and informed consent violates Article 20(3).
Can these tests still be used if the subject consents?+
Yes, Selvi permits them with genuine, informed, voluntary consent, but results obtained this way are treated as investigative leads rather than substantive evidence of guilt, and any statement made must still meet other admissibility standards.
Related terms
- Brain Electrical Activation Profile (BEAP / P300 Test)
- A method that uses electroencephalography (EEG) to detect the P300 event-related potential, a positive-going brainwave that occurs approximately 300 milliseconds after a...
- Narco-Analysis
- A technique in which a subject is administered a barbiturate or benzodiazepine drug (commonly sodium pentothal or midazolam) to induce a hypnotic...
- Polygraph
- An instrument that simultaneously records multiple physiological channels including blood pressure, respiration rate, galvanic skin response, and sometimes heart rate while the...
- Section 23, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (Discovery Rule)
- The provision (successor to Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act 1872) under which information given by a person in police custody...
- Selvi V State of Karnataka
- A 2010 decision of the Supreme Court of India in which a three-judge bench held unanimously that compulsory administration of narco-analysis, polygraph,...