Current scenario of forensic DNA databases in or outside India and their relative risk

DNA technology has proved to be a worthy investigative tool for releasing the innocent citizens and bringing forth the person responsible for serious crimes. In a populated country like India there is a requirement for these types of databases. The Union government is working on a new version of a legislation that seeks to set up a national DNA database of ‘offenders’. As expected with the great success of the use of forensic DNA databases, new challenges are coming up. To rise to the challenges, different strategies have been proposed for increasing search capabilities, the implementation of which is on-going. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US has proposed to add more autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci to its current core set of loci. The constant growth in the size of forensic DNA databases raises issues on the criteria of inclusion and retention and doubts on the efficiency, commensurability and infringement of privacy of such large personal data collections. People have difficulties that spill beyond the level of simple privacy and confidentiality issues.