The Union Ministry of Home Affairs notifies Criminal Procedure (Identification) Rules, 2022

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs notified the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Rules 2022 to incorporate safeguards against potential misuse of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act. Apart from helping increase conviction rates, the Act allows for the legal collection of body measurements for the purpose of making investigations more efficient and expeditious.

Under the Act, "measurements" have been defined as foot-print impressions, finger impressions, photographs, palm-print impressions, iris and retina scans, and physical, biological samples. Sections 53 and 53A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) state the same will be analyzed along with behavioural traits such as signatures and handwriting.

As per Rule 4, if any person required to take measurements resists or refuses to allow such measurements. The authorised user may take them in accordance with Section 53 of the CrPC (examination of the accused by a medical practitioner) and Section 53A of the CrPC (examination of the person accused of rape by a medical practitioner).

Furthermore, the Rules state that measurements will be stored in a secure and encrypted format in accordance with the National Crime Records Bureau's standard operating procedure. Rule 5(6) provides that any act of unauthorized access or sharing of data collected under the Act shall be punishable as per the provisions of the IPC and the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The Act has come under criticism for curbing the privacy of accused persons.