COMMON ORDER :-These revision cases have been filed by the State represented by the Public Prosecutor questioning the order passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Vijayawada, in Criminal M.P. No.276 of 2008 and Criminal M.P. No.277 of 2008 in Crime No.4 77 of 2007 of Ibrahimpatnam Police Station, Vijayawada. The Assistant Commissioner of Police, West Zone, Vijayawada City, filed a requisition before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Vijayawada, requesting to permit them to undertake Narco Analysis Test for six persons at FSL Bangalore.

2. In the requisition it is mentioned that the persons mentioned in the requisition are neither accused nor suspects in the above crime. The police were suspecting that the above mentioned persons are not disclosing certain facts known to them in respect of the above crime and if a Narco Analysis Test is conducted on the above persons, there is likelihood of those persons disclosing certain facts, which may help the Police in making progress in the investigation.

3. The learned Magistrate in the order observed that the above persons are neither accused nor suspects and they were not arrested by Police, therefore the question of giving those persons to the Police custody for the purpose of Narco Analysis Test does not arise. The Court has no jurisdiction to entertain the requisition or to send the persons for Narco Analysis Test. Hence, the requisition is rejected.

4. The learned Public Prosecutor submitted that the test can be conducted on any person including witnesses and they need not necessarily be accused or suspects. It is the safe test to elicit information relating to the crime from the above persons, instead of resorting to third degree methods, therefore he submitted that the Police may be granted permission to conduct Narco Analysis Test. The learned Public Prosecutor in support of his contention relied on the following judgments.

5. In Santokben Sharmanbhai Jadeja v. State of Gujarat, 2008 Crl. LJ 68, the Gujarat High Court, while considering the scope of Article 20(3) with reference to Narco Analysis Test, held as follows :

"By conducting/performing the Narco Analysis Test itself would not tantamount to compulsive testimony or testimonial compulsion and the same would not amount to violation of Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India and if the statement recorded during the course of the aforesaid test is used against the accused, enough protection exists in the Criminal Procedure Code and/or Evidence Act and recourse to which can be taken as and when the Investigating Agency seeks to produce such statement as evidence and merely on apprehension and/or presumption that the said statement could be used by the Investigating agency against the person making it that by itself is no ground not to permit the Investigating agency to conduct/perform the Narco Analysis Test upon the accused, more particularly, when the same is needed for the purpose of finding out the truth and to nab the criminal/accused who have committed offence and when the Investigating agency is absolutely in dark.

Moreover, considering the various provisions under the Criminal Procedure Code right from Sections 156 to 159 and other related provisions, collection of evidence by the Police Officer is permitted under the Law. Conducting the aforesaid tests on accused is to be considered as process of collection of such evidence by the Investigating Agency. The aforesaid test is a scientific method in furtherance of the investigation. The field of criminology has expanded rapidly and new techniques and methods are used for committing the crimes and offences and the demand for supplemental methods of detecting deception and improving the efficiency of interrogation have increased concomitantly. Thus, aforesaid tests for criminal interrogation is a valuable technique which would help the Investigating agency to further investigate the crime when the Investigating agency finds itself clueless and there is no further headway in t

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