This is a petition by the accused to revise the order made by the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Gooty, in Crl.M.P. No. 751/70 directing the accused to give specimen handwriting to the Investigating Officer in Crime No. 167/70 of the Gooty Police Station.

2. Mr. Sadasiva Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioner contended that directing the accused to give his specimen signatures for the purpose of investigating an offence alleged to have committed, amounts to testimonial compulsion offending Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court in M. P. Sharma v. Satish Chandra (Jagannadhadas J.), AIR 1954 SC 300 observed that : "Article 20(3) embodies the principles or protection against compulsion of self-incrimination which is one of the fundamental canons of the British system of criminal jurisprudence and which has been adopted by the American system and incorporated as an article of its Constitution. It has also, to a substantial extent, been recognised in the Anglo-Indian administration of criminal justice in this country by incorporation into various statutory provisions.

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So far as the Indian law is concerned, it may b