Voice samples collected in private capacity not valid

Forensic reports from the Mumbai and London laboratories confirming the audio samples as those of AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in the cash-for-vote scam may not stand in court as the sample collection procedures were not according to law, said experts.

National Investigation Agency special public prosecutor P. Vishnuvardhan Reddy said, “The Code of Criminal Procedure Code clearly lays down the rules for seizure of any evidence including voice samples. Usually control voice samples are recorded before the magistrate. The phone conversations seized or retrieved officially by the investigation agency and the voice samples have to be sent to the forensic science laboratory through the court.”

He added, “In this case, a forensic report was obtained by a private individual with samples collected from his known sources, it is not valid. If the investigation agency has failed to collect samples and send it to the FSL, private individuals may file a petition in the High Court or trial court seeking a direction to the investigating agency to collect the material as per the procedures and take the case forward.”

Meanwhile, in a significant development, the ACB said that it had submitted a fresh chargesheet and the same was taken into cognizance and the court has ordered a probe into the complaint filed by the YSRC MLA.

ACB special public prosecutor V. Surender Rao said, “The chargesheet has been numbered on Monday. The High Court had earlier quashed a case against one of the accused, Jerusalem Mattaiah, and the same has now been challenged in Supreme Court and is pending. There are no major changes from the chargesheet filed earlier and that resubmitted later.”