On 3rd February, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology submitted its report on the DNA Technology Regulation Bill in the Rajya Sabha. If passed, the Bill will set up a national DNA database in the country for the first time. It would indefinitely store the DNA of offenders, suspects, undertrials, missing persons and unknown deceased persons.

Two members of the Standing Committee filed dissent notes. AIMIM president Asaddudin Owaisi and CPI leader Binoy Viswam said that the report does not address privacy concerns and possible targeting of vulnerable communities. Both advised compliance with the Supreme Court’s Puttaswamy judgment on privacy rights.

In this episode, we examine these arguments. Our reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Rohin Garg, Associate Policy Counsel at Internet Freedom Foundation. He was one of the experts consulted by the Standing Committee for its report.

Puttaswamy v. India
Standing Committee Report on DNA Bill 

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