Lie of the Needle?

Mastermind Abdul Karim Telgi, however, was subjected to the needle last December at a government hospital in Bangalore. ‘‘Excellent!’’ is how Dr B M Mohan, director of the Karnataka State Forensic Laboratory describes the results of the use. ‘‘He vomited out the truth.’’

Not all the glee is due to what Telgi said. ‘‘We were particularly happy since Telgi is also HIV-positive, and this proves that we can tackle even complicated medical cases,’’ says Dr Mohan.

But lab assistant director Dr S Malini, who conducted the ‘summing up’ session on Telgi, is emphatic that the drug also had its intended results. ‘‘Telgi talked for five hours non-stop. He spoke freely about his role in the scam and gave vent to all his thoughts. Whatever he said has been submitted to the Special Investigation Team,’’ she says.

While the contents of such confessionals may never come into public domain, scientists conducting truth serum tests have no doubts that the truth serum has a role to play in cracking murder, espionage and even terrorist cases. In each case, they emphasise, they pushed the needle only after the investigating agency had obtained a court order and, ideally, the subject’s consent as well.

SODIUM pentothal, a common anaesthetic, was first used as a truth serum (see box, The truth about the serum) in 1990 at the Ahmedabad Forensic Science Laboratory. Its deputy director Dr S L Vaya, widely acknowledged as a pioneer in serum use, claims to have subsequently used the drug in 15 cases, including the Godhra carnage. The lab charges a token Rs 1,000 to conduct the tests for an investigating agency outside Gujarat.

‘‘We find that on being injected with the drug, the subject becomes calm and serene and starts talking easily. Our approach is therapeutic, not interrogative. And the result is a catharsis-like confession,’’ says Dr Vaya.

Apart from the Godhra case, Dr Vaya remembers using the needle on Shyamji Khera, a Mumbaiite named in an Official Secrets Act case, in the dispensary of the Sabarmati Central Prison in Ahmedabad. ‘‘This was one of the very first cases in which we used the drug,’’ she says. ‘‘It actually helped prove the suspect’s innocence. This may be an invasive technique, but it isn’t just about proving someone guilty.’’

Ahmedabad FSL director Dr J M Vyas backs up her claim. ‘‘There is no doubt that the truth serum is a very useful tool in criminal investigation.’’

Their counterparts in Karnataka agree. ‘‘We introduced narcoanalysis five years ago, and have handed out results in more than 30 cases,’’ says Dr Malini. ‘‘We have a big backlog of requests from various police agencies. Since the tests are time-consuming and require many formalities to be cleared, I think we have enough cases to keep us busy for six-seven months.’’

Interestingly, even as scientists conduct tests in government hospitals, the two labs plan to establish their own high-tech testing facilities — covering, among other tests, brain fingerprinting — on their own premises. Ahmedabad also hopes to have its ethics committee in place soon to examine proposed cases individually.

GRADUALLY, investigating agencies, too, are acknowledging the help they have received from the two forensic labs. ‘‘We have sought narcoanalysis in cases where we were missing a clincher, despite a lot of evidence,’’ admits a senior official of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Adds another, ‘‘While the results of such tests are not admissible as evidence, they do help a judge in making up his mind and, eventually, pronouncing judgment.’’

But it’s not always smooth sailing. ‘‘Once,’’ recounts the official, ‘‘the narcoanalysis results were completely contrary to the results of the polygraph (lie detector) tests on one accused. To ensure conflicting evidence did not weaken our case, we decided against submitting the truth serum results to the court.’’

Other dissenting voices may not be quietened as efficiently. One huge grey area in the use of truth serum relates to human rights. After the use of the drug on Godhra case accused came to light, the People’s Union of Civil Liberties, a human rights group, issued a statement, saying, ‘‘On one hand, the drugs violate the rights of the accused. On the other, if the trial court is unaware of the effect of the drugs, it may rely on evidence obtained under their influence.’’

The objections are not limited to rights groups. Former Punjab police chief K P S Gill says, ‘‘This is an invasive technique, and far too risky a business. There are serious dangers involved, people can even die.’’

According to former Chief Justice and former head of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) J S Verma, since there is no court ruling on the subject in India, the NHRC norms on polygraph tests should apply to truth serum tests as well. ‘‘Our Constitution guarantees protection against testimonial compulsion and therefore, the informed consent of the subject is critical in each and every case,’’ he points out.

Forensic scientists with a stake in the tests, too, have been demanding guidelines. In a recent article in the CBI bulletin, Dr Vaya says that the truth serum should be used in such a way as to be acceptable to the subject, the investigating officer, the judiciary and, most importantly, the expert conducting the test. The last, she points out, ‘‘in the event of any untoward incident, would be a probable scapegoat’’.

The grey, then, persists. But if the fog lifts, the truth may be out there.