Expanding Frontier of Neurolaw: Post Smt. Selvi V. State of Karnataka

Abstract

Crimes are committed in very sophisticated form these days. It is highly technical as well. The investigating agency can be benefited from the use of modern scientific developments to commensurate with the diversified and perplexed modus operandi of offences. The court of law can also take help of the expertise of science in this matter. One of the branches of biological science working to help in this regard is neuroscience. Neuroscience has various inclinations towards law. The neuroscience is such inclined towards the law that this new discipline is termed as Neurolaw. It is having the potential to address various complex questions of the motivation of crime and shall assist law in realising its objectives. However, in Salvi judgement of the Supreme Court of India, one such technique, Brain Mapping, was not allowed considering various factors. The apprehension of the Courts to allow the Brain Mapping, however, is affected by the recent development of neuroscience. The scope of the paper is to put forth the recent development after the decision of the court than towards shedding lights on the normative aspect of the decisions of the court, which is discussed incidentally.

Keywords: Neurolaw, Right to Privacy, Right to Silence, Right to Mental Privacy, Brain Mapping, BEOS