On December 22, 2003, doctors at Victoria Hospital in Bangalore intravenously administered a mixture of sodium pentathol, dextrose and distilled water to a patient
On December 22, 2003, doctors at Victoria Hospital in Bangalore intravenously administered a mixture of sodium pentathol, dextrose and distilled water to a patient
Known as the ‘truth serum’, the mixture was slowly administered to send the patient into a trance. The patient was none other than Abdul Karim Ladsab Telgi — the prime accused in the Rs3,000-crore stamp paper scam.
In a drugged state, Telgi spilled the names of influential people involved in the scam.
This was one of the few high-profile criminal cases in India which set the trend of narco tests, described by the Supreme Court on Wednesday as an ‘unwarranted intrusion of personal liberty’.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case had obtained permission from the Pune bench of the Bombay high court to conduct a series of scientific tests on Telgi. He earlier underwent a polygraph or lie-detector test and a brain-mapping test.
At least 60 others were arrested in the case. In January 2005, Telgi was finally sentenced to 10-year rigorous imprisonment.
However, questions were raised about the legality of the method used to extract information from the accused. As per Article 20(3) of the Constitution, “no person accused of any offence can be compelled to be a witness against himself”.
Former state inspector general of police SM Mushrif, a key whistleblower in the scam, had then demanded that the names of top politicians that figured in Telgi’s narco tests should be investigated.
Top forensic experts from the state had stressed that the narco tests, if administered correctly, would help give valuable direction to criminal investigations.
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