Can Investigating Agencies Be Permitted To Take Voice Sample Of The Accused? SC To Decide [Read Order]

The Supreme Court has issued a notice in a Special Leave Petition filed by the National Investigation Agency against a Kerala High Court order that refused to permit the investigating agency to take the voice sample of the accused for the purpose of comparing his voice with the voice in a video clipping collected during the investigation.Against the NIA court allowing such permission, the. The Supreme Court has issued a notice in a Special Leave Petition filed by the National Investigation Agency against a Kerala High Court order that refused to permit the investigating agency to take the voice sample of the accused for the purpose of comparing his voice with the voice in a video clipping collected during the investigation. Against the NIA court allowing such permission, the accused had approached the high court contending that there is no provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure, Evidence Act or the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 enabling the court below to direct the accused to give voice sample to the investigating agency for verification. The high court bench comprising Justice AM Shaffique and Justice P Somarajan had allowed the accused plea taking note of decision in Ritesh Sinha v The State of Uttar Pradesh and had observed that such an implied power to take voice sample cannot be read into any of the statutes.