A-20 Flashcards
A-20
- No retrospective application of criminal law.
- No double jeopardy. ( In the court of law. Any departmental action woulnd’t be considered as double punishment )
- Right against self-incrimination. ( Prohibits testimonial confession )
-> Exemption under A-20(3) does not extend to providing fingerprints, signatures, handwriting samples, presenting oneself in identification parades, or giving blood samples.
-> Selvi vs State of Karnataka (2010): The Court held that tests like narcoanalysis, brain mapping, and polygraph tests can’t be carried out without the consent of the accused as they violate A-21 and A-20(3).
-> In 2014, the SC in the Lalita Kumari case made registration of the FIR mandatory upon receiving a complaint from the citizen. This ruling was necessary as prior to 2014, the police often delayed registration of FIR by conducting a preliminary inquiry, which was not envisaged in the CRPC. This gave undue discretion to the investigating officers.
-> Section-173 of the BNSS reverses the Lalita Kumari ruling for offenses where the maximum sentence ranges between 3-7 years. The new provision requires a preliminary inquiry and prior permission of a DSP-level officer before registering the FIR. The preliminary inquiry would allow officers to summon the accused without registering FIR, thus depriving them of prior knowledge about the allegations against them.
-> The constitutional safeguard under A-20(3) would become ineffective if the police were empowered to extract incriminating information during the preliminary inquiry.
