Admissibility of DNA Evidence in Criminal Trials: Comparative Analysis of the Daubert Standard, the UK Reliability Framework, and the Indian Evidentiary Vacuum

This paper explores the manner in which DNA evidence has been and is admitted within criminal trial processes in India, in part by comparison with how it has been and is admitted in the USA and the UK. The paper’s first objective is to identify and explain the prevailing approach to the legal admissibility of DNA evidence in India. This paper contends that, despite the important and sometimes conclusive nature of DNA evidence in matters of proof, Indian law does not yet offer it any special admissibility standards. In contrast, the American Daubert model and the UK’s regulatory framework both demand a reliability inquiry into the evidence long before the courtroom. This article accordingly suggests a five-factor admissibility standard for India to utilize, with a specific focus on forensic laboratory access, methodological exposure, statistical binary, chain-of-custody standards, and a judicial limine pre-trial admissibility hearing. The author concludes that such accommodation under Article 21 is a necessary obligation for the state to foster the social alignment of DNA science with fairness, legalism, and existing forensics in the criminal adjudicatory context.