Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, chaired a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs at Sri Vijaya Puram in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The subject of the meeting was Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) and National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU). The Union Ministers of State for Home Affairs Shri Nityanand Rai, Shri Bandi Sanjay Kumar, members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, Union Home Secretary, Vice Chancellor of NFSU, Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), and other senior officials were present in the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah said that the Ministry of Home Affairs has held 12 meetings of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee from 2019 until now, which have yielded good results. He said that it is Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision that after the new criminal laws are fully implemented, justice should be delivered on time. Shri Shah said that we will create such a system by 2029 in which the entire judicial process—from FIR to the Supreme Court—can be completed within three years. He mentioned that the reforms undertaken since 2022 have been efforts in this very direction. The Home Minister said that to turn the vision of completing the entire process from FIR to Supreme Court justice within three years into reality, the Ministry of Home Affairs is doing 360-degree monitoring of these efforts and is working to address any shortcomings.

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah said that the Government of India has been focusing and working on forensics since 2020 itself to enhance and expand forensic capabilities for the process of delivering justice. He said that the new criminal laws came into effect from July 2024, but we had already begun the work of implementing them from the perspective of forensics starting in 2020, and positive results are now being seen.

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah said that after the introduction of the New Criminal Laws, there has been an increase in the speed of investigations and the conviction rate. He said that in West Bengal, the accused in the rape of a minor girl was sentenced to death in just 62 days. In a triple murder case in Siwan district of Bihar, two accused were sentenced in only 50 days. Shri Shah said that these cases prove that we are getting positive results, but there is a need to further strengthen the system.

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah said that earlier we faced five challenges, which included a major technology gap in forensic investigations, the limited quality of evidence due to Chain of Custody issues, instances where police did not submit forensic investigation reports to the courts, a shortage of skilled professionals and forensic laboratories, and the lack of nationwide standards. He said that in accordance with the provisions of the new laws, forensic laboratories will now send their reports directly to the court and provide a copy to the police. Shri Shah said that the Government of India and state governments are going to invest 30 thousand crore rupees over the next five years to build a network of forensic laboratories across the country. Along with this, a scientific mechanism has been established to address the lack of nationwide standards. He mentioned that by sharing best practices and shortcomings, a nationwide standard will be determined.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that we have taken steps towards scientific reforms, the development of secure databases, technology and human resource capacity building, empowerment of institutions, and better coordination between the central and state governments. He said that the new criminal laws have given importance to technology. Reforms such as e-Summons and e-Sakshya have been introduced. He said that by fully modernizing the five pillars—namely police, courts, prisons, forensics, and prosecution—concrete steps have been taken to store data electronically, enable data interoperability among them, and conduct continuous analysis based on Artifical Intelligence (AI). He mentioned that forensic visits have been made mandatory in all criminal cases where the punishment is seven years or more.

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah said that we have strengthened the Chain of Custody not merely through circulars, but from a judicial perspective. The videography of seizures has been made mandatory so that no false allegations can be leveled against the police. He said that digital and electronic evidence has now been clearly defined. By providing a decisive legal basis to digital and forensic evidence, it has been established as admissible proof. He said that cybercrime, organized crime, terrorism, and digital fraud were not clearly defined earlier, but we have now explicitly defined them, thereby reducing grey areas for the courts. The implementation of Trial In Absentia will curb the tendency of accused persons fleeing the country. He mentioned that crimes against women and children have also been given priority in the new criminal laws. He said that e-FIR and Zero FIR represent a major relief for the poor and women.

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah said that by November 2025, every police station in the country has been brought online on the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). He said that today every FIR is available on the central server. In the coming days, a Modus Operandi Bureau will also be established for the mapping of crimes. Approximately 36 crore legacy data along with the data of 7 lakh FIRs is available online. 22 thousand courts have been connected to e-Courts. In e-Prisons, the data of 2 crore 20 lakh prisoners from jails across the country is available on the central server. In e-Prosecution, data of approximately 2 crore prosecution cases is available. In the new prosecution system, information of all cases is now being made available in e-Prosecution. Data of 30 lakh 54 thousand cases is available on e-Forensics so that the police can use it. On the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS), 1 crore 21 lakh fingerprints are available, which is helping the police in investigation of cases. Data of 9 lakh 44 thousand Narco offenders is also available online. Data of 3 lakh 65 thousand criminals involved in human trafficking has been made online. He said that data of all terrorism cases registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) is also being separately recorded in the NIA database.

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah said that currently there are 7 CFSLs (Central Forensic Science Laboratories) in the country, while 8 new CFSLs are being established. He said that there will be no state or Union Territory left without either an NFSU or a CFSL. He said that to strengthen the states' FSLs, forensic vans, and regional laboratories, we have provided a grant of approximately Rs. 1,000 crore. Shri Shah said that guidelines have been issued for the standardization of forensic science departments. The IT platform for e-Forensics has also been launched, and 143 laboratories across the country, including CFSLs, have already been connected to it.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that by 2029, 35 thousand students will be studying forensics at NFSU, and within 3-4 years we will reach saturation level. He said that NFSU has 100 percent placement. The Home Minister said that so far, 14 campuses of NFSU have been established, and this university is currently running more than 100 training programs. He mentioned that in the past 4 years, more than 16 thousand officers have been trained, and the target has been set to nearly triple this number in the next 4 years.

Union Home Minister said that NFSU has so far registered 46 patents, out of which 30 were registered just in 2024. He said that 96 countries have signed 103 MoUs with NFSU. Additionally, 117 organizations from the central and state governments have also entered into agreements with NFSU. Shri Amit Shah said that in the long-term roadmap, work has been undertaken to create an integrated forensic structure, and we are promoting innovation. In the coming times, we will also do good work in forensic intelligence. Along with this, AI-based analysis of forensic results and the continuous updating of software will also be carried out.

The Home Minister said that after the implementation of the three new criminal laws, good initial results are being seen from the efforts to deliver quick outcomes.

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