Jaipur-Mumbai train firing: Court says no to narco tests on RPF constable

Magistrate says to remain silent is fundamental right

A magistrate’s court which denied permission for subjecting dismissed RPF constable Chetan Singh, accused of shooting four people dead on a moving train, to narco tests has said in its reasoning that to remain silent is an accused person’s fundamental right.

An accused cannot be forced to undergo such tests only for the sake of “smooth investigation,” the court said in the order passed on August 11. The full order became available on Friday.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) had sought the Borivali magistrate court’s nod for subjecting Singh to narco tests, brain mapping and polygraph.

He is currently in judicial custody, lodged in a jail in neighboring Thane district.

The prosecution had said that he was accused of committing a serious offence and to complete the probe, narco and other tests were necessary.

Singh’s lawyers Surendra Landage, Amit Mishra and Jaywant Patil opposed the plea, saying that narco tests are a violation of the fundamental rights and cannot be conducted if an accused does not give consent.

Referring to a Supreme Court judgment, the magistrate noted, “If we minutely go through the entire judgment, it clearly reveals that only in external circumstances, that too with the consent of the accused, a test can be conducted. But, there is no room for compelling the accused to go for a test without his content. Since the accused is not ready to face such tests, to protect his fundamental rights, the application deserves to be rejected.” The court further said that to remain silent is a fundamental right of an accused.

“In my opinion, only for the smooth investigation the permission cannot be granted,” the court added.

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