Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill gets Lok Sabha approval

Lok Sabha passed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill that seeks to take measurements of convicts and other persons for purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters.

Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill that seeks to take measurements of convicts and other persons for purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters.

The bill was passed by a voice vote after Home Minister Amit Shah allayed concerns raised by the opposition which claimed that the draft law was draconian.

The bill replaces the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920.

Shah said the bill has been brought in to ensure that police and investigators remain two steps ahead of criminals.

"There should be no apprehension," he added.

"Next-generation crimes cannot be tackled with old techniques. We have to try to take criminal justice system to the next era," Shah said.

Meanwhile, Opposition members on Monday termed the provisions of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill as “draconian” and demanded that it be referred to a Parliamentary standing committee to ensure stronger safeguards to prevent its misuse.

During a discussion on the Bill in the Lok Sabha, members voiced concern over the broad provisions in the draft legislation that empowered a head constable of a police station or a head warden of a jail to take “measurements” of convicts as well as those in preventive detention.