Consent of DRDO Scientist Held for Leaking Confidential Information Not Needed for Tests: ATS to Court

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has told a court here that it does not need the consent of DRDO scientist Pradeep Korolkar, who has been arrested in an alleged espionage case, to undergo a pitch test and psychological analysis.

Korolkar, director of a laboratory under the Defense Research and Development Organisation, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Agency on May 3 on charges of leaking classified information to a Pakistani intelligence agent.

The prosecution had earlier asked the court to request his consent to a polygraph test, vocal pitch analysis (VLA) and psychoanalysis.

But Korolkar’s lawyer argued those tests were unnecessary, and forcing him to undergo them violated his basic rights under the constitution.

“The consent of the accused is required for drug tests as well as a polygraph because the evidence obtained through these tests can be used against him. However, in the multi-layered voice analysis test, the evidence is not recorded.

This test is conducted only to ensure that the statements of the accused are correct, and in this case, the consent of the accused is not mandatory. “We have said so in our written response to the court,” Attorney General Vijay Vargid said on Friday.

The LVA test is conducted to understand the mental state and emotional state of the subject by analyzing the content of his or her speech in response to different sets of questions.

Meanwhile, defense counsel Rishikesh Kanoo said he has filed an application before the court requesting access to the confidential documents that form part of the charge sheet filed by the Counter-Terrorism Agency as these documents are necessary to determine the further course of action for the defence.

(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)