Rahul Agarwal v. State of West Bengal: A Landmark on Voice Sampling: Self-Incrimination and Voice Evidence: What the Supreme Court Just Clarified
Summary of the Supreme Court of India's judgment in Rahul Agarwal v. State of West Bengal & Anr. (Criminal Appeal @ SLP(Crl.) No. 5518 of 2025): Case Summary Background : A 25-year-old woman died in 2021, leading to allegations of harassment and counterclaims of misappropriation by her family. A cousin of the husband filed a police complaint, implicating the deceased’s father and mother. The second respondent allegedly threatened a witness and was asked to provide a voice sample for investigation. Legal Issue : The Magistrate allowed the collection of the voice sample, but the High Court overturned it, citing a pending reference to a Larger Bench regarding the legality of such orders under the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.). Supreme Court’s Ruling : The Court reaffirmed its earlier decision in Ritesh Sinha v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2019), which held that Magistrates can order voice samples even without explicit provisions in Cr.P.C. It emphasized that such samples do not...