In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court today i.e., August 2, 2019, has held that a Magistrate would have the power to direct accused to give voice samples for investigation.
The judgment rendered by a Bench headed by Chief Justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi said the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, does not have provisions that allow Magistrates to direct the accused to cooperate with probe agencies by providing voice samples in pending investigations.
The Bench also comprising of Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose, said it was exercising its extraordinary constitutional powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India to confer the power on Magistrates to direct accused to furnish their voice samples for investigation.
Today's verdict settles the confusion which arose out of the split verdict in the 2012 verdict by a two judges Bench in Ritesh Sinha v. State of UP.
