Open Access Research Article

FROM NARCO-ANALYSIS TO DIGITAL FORENSICS: EVIDENTIARY CHALLENGES IN INDIAN COURTS BY – AJAY & DR. HARSHITA THALAWAL

Author(s):
AJAY DR. HARSHITA THALAWAL
Journal IJLRA
ISSN 2582-6433
Access Open Access
Volume 3
Issue 8
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Abstract

Indian evidence law has moved from distrusting mind-based scientific techniques to depending on machine-based ones, but the core problem has not changed: courts must decide whether a scientific output is admissible, reliable and obtained lawfully. This paper traces that arc from narco-analysis, polygraph and Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature (BEOS) profiling, which the Supreme Court confined in Selvi v. State of Karnataka (2010) and again in Amlesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2025), to the digital-evidence regime of Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and its successor, Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA), in force from 1 July 2024.Using doctrinal analysis of statutes and leading judgments, supported by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, the paper argues three points. First, the constitutional guarantees in Articles 20(3) and 21 settled the narco-analysis question, but not the parallel question of compelled access to devices and passwords. Second, the certificate model under Section 63(4), now carrying a mandatory hash value and upheld in Pune Bar Association v. Union of India (2026), answers admissibility but not reliability. Third, forensic capacity, chain-of-custody discipline and synthetic media (deepfakes) are now the binding constraints, not statutory text. The paper closes with a reform agenda: a reliability standard for scientific evidence, accredited digital-forensic capacity at district level, and statutory rules on compelled decryption.Keywords: narco-analysis; Article 20(3); scientific evidence; electronic evidence; Section 65B; Section 63 BSA; hash value; chain of custody; digital forensics; deepfakes; right to privacy.

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Authors: AJAY & DR. HARSHITA THALAWALRegistration ID: 1013635 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13635 & IJLRA13636Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, India

Article Information

FROM NARCO-ANALYSIS TO DIGITAL FORENSICS: EVIDENTIARY CHALLENGES IN INDIAN COURTS BY – AJAY & DR. HARSHITA THALAWAL

Authors: AJAY, DR. HARSHITA THALAWAL

  • Journal IJLRA
  • ISSN 2582-6433
  • Volume 3
  • Issue 8
Citation Download Paper Full Details Search on Google Search on Google Scholar

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International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis

  • AbbreviationIJLRA
  • ISSN2582-6433
  • AccessOpen Access
  • LicenseCC 4.0

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