NARCOANALYSIS

AND
BRAIN MAPPING
 NARCOANALYSIS

Narcoanalysis also known as Truth Serum Test is

a chemo-physiological test administered to a
crime suspect to extract when he is not willing to
tell the truth and tell lies in normal interrogation.
It is interrogation of the suspect after giving him
an injection, intravenously, of a suitable dose of a
hypnotic drug- a barbiturate most of the time.
The term NARCO is derived from a Greek word
“NARKC” meaning anesthesia.
The most barbiturate used in narcoanalysis is
Sodium Pentothal or Sodium Amytal
 HISTORY
 Early in the 20th Century, Physician began to employ
Scopolamine along with morphine and chloroform to
induce a state of twilight sleep during childbirth.
 In 1922, it occurred to Robert House (Father of Truth
Serum), that a similar technique can be used to
interrogate suspected criminals.
 He interviewed two prisoners in Dallas Country jail
whose guilty seemed clearly confirmed.
 Under the influence of the drug, they denied the charges
against them
 Later, after the investigation was complete, they were
found innocent.
 PRESUMPTIONS
 The hypnotic or the other drug injected suppresses the
reasoning power of the subject.
 The subject has not mixed the truth about the event with
other similar incidents.
 He has not rationalized the events of the occurrence in his
sub conscious mind.
 He is not influenced by media person.
 He is not under Conformational Syndrome.
 He has a sharp and long lasting memory.
 He tell lies when not drugged.
 The dose of the hypnotic drug is adequate to numb his
reasoning power
 The examiner is unbiased competent expert.
 PROCESS
 Narcoanalysis Interrogation:
 Permission for the test is obtained from a Magistrate.
 Consent of the subject is recorded to satisfy the need of
Article- 20(3).
 Fitness of the subject is to be checked by a general
physician.

 Narcoanalysis Room:
 The test is carried in an operation theatre.
 A general physician keeps a watch on the subject and the
anesthetist administers the drug.
 Along with the above mentioned, a narconalyst is present in
the room.
 The Drug:
 3 grams of Sodium Pentothal or Sodium Amytal
dissolved/Mix in 3000 ml of distilled water
 Injected intravenously in a vein back of the hand.
 The dose is generally 0.25 to 0.50 grams.
 To determine the dose, the anesthetist take sex, age, weight
and general built into consideration.

 The Subject:
 He has to be in good mental and physical condition.
 A general physician certifies the same.
 The subject should not be a drug addict or on barbiturates
therapy i.e. suffering from depression etc.
 When the drug is administered
intravenously, the subject ordinarily
descends into anaesthesia in four stages,
namely:

(i) Awake stage

(ii) Hypnotic Stage
(iii) Sedative Stage and
(iv) Anaesthetic Stage
 The Examiner:
 The narcoanalysist should be a forensic psychologist.
 He removes the fear of the subject.
 He prepares a questionnaire beforehand.
 An imaging expert takes video and audio films and records
the other details of the test.
 The film too is sent to the Court along with the report.

 Laboratories:
 Bengaluru and Ahemdabad State Forensic Laboratories
carry out narcoanalysis test in India.
 It reports a very high rate of success in the tests.
LEGAL ASPECTS OF THE TEST
 Since its inception in criminal jurisprudence,
the human rights activists have pointed a
finger against subjecting a person without his
consent to the test on two grounds that,
 firstly, it violates the principle of ‘Right
against Self Incrimination’ guaranteed under
Article 20(3) of the Indian Constitution and
 Secondly, it violates the Fundamental Right
of ‘Right to Privacy’ under Article 21 of
Indian Constitution.
 DEFICIENCIES
 No sure test to indicate that the trance is real or fake.
 There is no surety whether the subject is telling the true
facts.
 The subject may mingle up the present incident with
some other incident.
 There is no way to judge if the subject is giving existing
incidents.
 The answers may be result of some hallucinations.
 The subject may have been told many times in normal
interrogation that he is guilty. During the test he
remembers it and accepts the same.
 CASE LAW
 BOMBAY SERIAL BLAST, 1993
 STAMP PAPER SCAM
 NITHARI SERIAL MURDERS
 MUMBAI TERRORIST ACTTACK, 2008
 LEGAL ASPECT
 Selvi v. State of Karnataka,
• The narco analysis interrogation should be done only
with the consent of the subject before a Magistrate.
• Nobody can be forced to go for the test involuntarily.
• The material and other evidences retrieved can be used
as evidence.
• Direct evidence from narco analysis interrogation is
inadmissiable unless supported with other evidence.
• Involuntary interrogation amounts to Third degree
torture. (Article 20(3))
• The compelling public interest cannot justify ignoring
right against self-incrimination.
BRAIN MAPPING
 BRAIN MAPPING
Brain Mapping Test is a test that maps the brain to reveal
guilty knowledge. It is done to interpret the behavior of
the suspect and corroborate the investigating officers’
observation and suspect’s statement.
 PROCEDURE
 It was developed in 1955 by neurologist Dr. Lawerence
A. Farwell.
 Brain Mapping test is also known as Brain Wave
Fingerprinting Test or P-300 Test.
 The suspect is first interviewed and interrogated to find
out whether he is concealing any information or not.
 The brain is activated by showing a list of words which
is divided into three parts:
Part I – neutral words having no relation with the case.
Part II – words directly related to the case.
Part III – target words which are not part of the other
two lists.
 The suspect is asked to relax and listen to the words
presented in auditory mode.
 No oral response required.
 The suspect is shown images from the crime scenes.
 The waves are examined which are monitored through
the electrodes attached to the scalp.
 Whether the suspect has knowledge about the case it
can be determined by the waves recorded on seeing the
images or words heard related to the case.
 CONCLUSION
Narco Analysis is a scientific technique. The drug used
is a hypnotic. It involves no mental and physical
torture to the suspect. The interrogation lasts only
for few minutes under the vigilance of the experts. It
has some drawbacks that can be tackled by the
scientist and are being removed with the passage of
time.
Brain Mapping is the test that measures individual’s
brain wave responses to relevant words, pictures or
sounds presented by a computer. It reveals
objectively whether information is present in the
brain, regardless whether any false or truthful
statements are made by the subject.