From July 2015 onward, all Kuwait residents (citizens and foreigners) must submit their DNA or risk up to seven years of jail. This draconian law casts a fearful shadow on the DNA bill now being considered by the Indian government.
Earlier this month, Kuwait enacted a law that makes DNA profiling of its citizens and foreign nationals living in the country mandatory. Anybody refusing to furnish their DNA for this database is liable to be jailed for up to seven years. This means all residents of Kuwait, including Indian workers living there, will have to give samples so that their DNA can be extracted and kept in government custody. To say the least, it is draconian.
Even before the news of Kuwait’s DNA profiling law sank, news has emerged about such a law in India. No, the Indian government is not emulating the Kuwaiti model, but only wants to make DNA profiles of criminals and suspects. The Human DNA Profiling Bill 2015 is slated for introduction in the Indian Parliament during the current session. The full draft of the Bill is not currently in the public domain, but going by the details trickling from various sources (and information based on its earlier versions), it appears that the bill has clauses that violate privacy and leave room for potential misuse.”