Involuntary administration of narco or lie detector tests is an “intrusion” into a person’s “mental privacy”, a Supreme Court judgment of 2010 has held.
The judgment is significant amid reports that the Uttar Pradesh government wants to subject the Hathras rape and murder victim’s family members to these tests.
The judgment in Smt. Selvi vs the State of Karnataka observed that involuntary administration of these scientific tests was “sufficient to constitute a custodial environment”.