The DNA Technology (Use and Software) Invoice, 2019, seeks to determine a Nationwide DNA Knowledge Financial institution and Regional DNA Knowledge banks to retailer and preserve the DNA profiles in accordance with the provisions referring to the use and entry to info, its retention and expunction.
The 32-member Division associated Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Know-how, Setting, Forests and Climate Change, headed by Congress chief Jairam Ramesh, tabled its report earlier than Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Two members of the panel, Asaduddin Owaisi, a Lok Sabha member from Telangana, and Binoy Viswam, a Rajya Sabha member representing Kerala, have submitted a dissent notice.
The invoice seeks to handle considerations associated to high quality, accuracy, safety of knowledge and different associated issues that will come up in the usage of DNA know-how.
The panel additionally raised considerations in regards to the DNA knowledge banks.
“…the chance with a nationwide knowledge financial institution of crime scene DNA profiles is that it’s going to seemingly embody nearly everybody since DNA is left on the crime scene earlier than and after the crime by a number of individuals who could don’t have anything to do with the crime being investigated.
“There may be additionally DNA to be current of those that have been nowhere close to crime scene however bodily materials like hair could have been transported to the crime scene inadvertently by a wide range of methods,” the report stated.
It added that many of those DNA profiles will then discover their approach into the “crime scene index” with out the information of those individuals.
It has been steered that crime scene DNA profiles can be utilized within the investigation and trial but it surely shouldn’t be put in a knowledge financial institution, and somewhat destroyed as soon as the case concludes with acquittal.
“If there’s a conviction, solely the DNA profile of the convict may very well be included within the knowledge financial institution,” it added.
It is a elementary difficulty on which it has not been attainable to reach at a consensus, the report stated.
Some members really feel that the crime scene index is pointless and isn’t a required function to resolve crimes. Another members favour the retention of this clause (within the invoice).
The invoice was first launched in Lok Sabha by Harsh Vardhan because the Minister for S&T in August 2018 and handed in January 2019. Nonetheless, the invoice lapsed because of the dissolution of Lok Sabha.
After the reconstitution of the federal government following the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Cupboard authorised the invoice and it was once more launched in Lok Sabha in July 2019.
In October 2019, the invoice was referred to the Division-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Know-how, Setting, Forests and Local weather Change by the Rajya Sabha Chairman in session with the Lok Sabha Speaker.
