The right that no person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself. Guaranteed by Article 20(3) and based on the maxim "nemo tenetur prodere accusare seipsum".
- Article 20(3): "No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself."
- Three ingredients: the person must be accused of an offence, there must be compulsion, and the compulsion must be to give evidence against himself.
- "To be a witness" covers oral and documentary evidence based on personal knowledge; in State of Bombay v. Kathi Kalu Oghad (1961) the Supreme Court held that giving fingerprints, specimen handwriting, signatures or blood samples is not "being a witness" and so is permitted.
- The protection extends to the stage of police investigation, not only the trial, and a confession made under compulsion is barred.
- In Selvi v. State of Karnataka (2010) the Court held that compulsory narco-analysis, polygraph and brain-mapping tests without consent violate Article 20(3) and Article 21.
Article 20(3) is central to criminal-investigation rights and a recurring Fundamental Rights item, directly relevant to policing and the security-rights balance.
The right bars testimonial compulsion only; physical evidence such as fingerprints, handwriting samples and DNA is not protected (Kathi Kalu Oghad, 1961).
Article 20(3): an accused cannot be compelled to be a witness against himself; covers compelled testimony, not physical samples.