A CRITICAL STUDY OF FINGERPRINT ANALYSIS USED IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IN INDIA

Fingerprint analysis is the oldest, most widely employed, and simultaneously the most contested discipline in forensic science. This paper undertakes a critical examination of fingerprint analysis as deployed in criminal investigation in India, evaluating its scientific foundations, the legal framework governing its admissibility, the institutional architecture within which examinations are conducted, and the data-governance regime applicable to biometrically collected information. Drawing upon primary statutory and case-law sources, landmark scientific reports including the 2009 National Academy of Sciences Report and the 2016 PCAST Report, and comparative material from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, the paper argues that Indian law and practice have accepted fingerprint evidence with a degree of probative weight that is disproportionate to its scientifically validated reliability. The paper identifies three interconnected areas of structural weakness: the absence of a reliability-based admissibility standard analogous to the Daubert doctrine; institutional arrangements that insufficiently insulate fingerprint examiners from investigative pressure and cognitive bias; and a biometric data-governance regime expanded by the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 without commensurate enhancement of individual rights protections. The paper proposes legislative, institutional, and procedural reforms directed at aligning Indian forensic evidentiary practice with contemporary scientific standards and constitutional values.
Keywords: Fingerprint analysis, forensic evidence, ACE-V methodology, Indian Evidence Act, cognitive bias, biometric data, Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act 2022, Daubert