Human DNA Profiling Bill

Context

Proposed Human DNA Profiling Bill has been criticised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on science and technology.

Background

Parliamentary Standing Committee on science and technology chaired by Jairam Ramesh, raised several questions on the provisions of the bill that proposes DNA sampling and profiling of citizens accused of crime or reported missing and storing their unique genetic information for administrative purposes has some alarming provisions that could be misused for caste or community purposes.

The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019

• The same Bill had been previously introduced in Lok Sabha in August 2018, but lapsed.
• The Bill regulates the use of DNA technology for establishing the identity of persons in respect of matters listed in a Schedule. These include criminal matters (such as offences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860), and civil matters such as parentage disputes, emigration or immigration, and transplantation of human organs.

• The Bill establishes a National DNA Data Bank and Regional DNA Data Banks. Every Data Bank will maintain the following indices (i) crime scene index, (ii) suspects’ or undertrials’ index, (iii) offenders’ index, (iv) missing persons’ index, and (v) unknown deceased persons’ index.
• The Bill establishes a DNA Regulatory Board. Every DNA laboratory that analyses a DNA sample to establish the identity of an individual, has to be accredited by the Board.
• Written consent by individuals is required to collect DNA samples from them. Consent is not required for offences with punishment of more than seven years of imprisonment or death.
• The Bill provides for the removal of DNA profiles of suspects on filing of a police report or court order, and of undertrials on the basis of a court order. Profiles in the crime scene and missing persons’ index will be removed on a written request.

Key Purpose

The Bill seeks to create a regulatory framework for obtaining, storing and testing of DNA samples of human beings, mainly for the purposes of criminal investigations, and with the objective of establishing the identity of a person. DNA testing is already being used for a variety of purposes, such as criminal investigations, establishment of parentage, and search for missing people. The proposed law seeks to bring in a supervisory structure to oversee these practices, and frame guidelines and rules so that the DNA technology is not misused.

The Regulatory board, which is proposed to be the main regulatory authority, would frame the rules and guidelines for DNA collection, testing and storage, while the DNA data bank would be the repository of all DNA samples collected from various people under specified rules.

The Bill proposes that testing of DNA samples can be carried out only at laboratories that are authorised to do so by the regulatory board. It also specifies the circumstances under which a person can be asked to submit DNA samples, the purposes for which such requests can be made, and the exact procedure for handling, storing and accessing these samples.

Contentious Issues

The main debate over the proposed law has been around following issues:

• Is the DNA technology foolproof?
• Do the provisions adequately address the possibility of abuse of DNA information?
• Is the privacy of the individual protected?
• No mechanism for grievance redressal for removal of profiles.

DNA information can be extremely revelatory. It can not only establish a person’s identity but also reveal a lot about physical and biological attributes of the person like eye, hair or skin colour, susceptibility to diseases, possible medical history, and possible clues to biological relatives. Critics of the Bill have been claiming that collecting and storing such intrusive information could lead to abuse, besides being violative of a person’s privacy.

Government's Argument

The government, on the other hand, has been arguing that since DNA tests are already happening, and frequently used as the most reliable tool to establish identity, it would be better to have regulatory safeguards so that it is carried out only in prescribed manner and by authorised personnel and institutions. The text of the Bill has undergone several changes over the years to address some of the concerns on privacy and the possibility of abuse.

The government has also claimed that very limited information is proposed to be stored in the indices, just 17 sets of numbers out of billions that DNA samples can reveal. These can tell nothing about the individual except to act as a unique identifier.

Across the world, close to 60 countries have various versions of DNA databases that largely relate to data on criminals. Going by collecting DNA of everyone arrested in India, the numbers are huge. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, over 3.2 million people were arrested in 2012 alone in the country. While the costs are huge it does make sense to retain DNA information of people in an era of rising crime and terrorism.

Conclusion

Although DNA can be an important tool here, in solving crimes, it is important that there are safeguards to protect human rights and prevent miscarriages of justice. Further, creating large databases is often not a cost-effective way to solve more crimes, and limited resources must be targeted effectively.

In short, important safeguards and a cost-benefit analysis are still lacking for this Bill. The Bill needs further improvement, and full parliamentary scrutiny should be utilised to achieve that end.

Connecting the Article

Question for Prelims

In relation to the DNA technology, which of the following can be its benefits?

1. Identify the missing child.
2. Resolve the criminal case expeditiously.
3. Best possible medical treatment.

Select the correct answer using the code given below

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Question for Mains

When people have already shared their biometric details including finger prints and retina scans for scrutiny in the Aadhaar law, critically examine the need of DNA data of the nationals.