Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act 2022 - A Critical Analysis

With increasing crime in numbers and sophistication and comparative lag in the identification of the suspects, narrowing down to accused and then filing charge sheet against them have led to low conviction rates in crimes especially the heinous crimes like rape, murder etc. This led to enactment of the new act, Criminal Procedure (Identification) act 2022 repealing the century old “The Identification of Prisoner’s Act, 1920” with amendments increasing the scope of the identification aspect of the suspects/accused hoping to get a better conviction. The changes increased the types of parameters taken as “measurements”; and digitization of these identification marks so as to get their comparison from records and subsequent sharing made easier on Pan India level. But despite the noble ideology behind the enactment, individual privacy and a host of fundamental rights infringement was observed which has raised fear and alarm in relation to implementation of this act. A critical analysis has been penned down here based on these questions raised across India.