National Conference on New Criminal Laws

National Conference on New Criminal Laws

Overview:

• The Ministry of Home Affairs and National Judicial Academy Bhopal organized a conference on New Criminal Laws from November 8-9, 2025.
• Focus was on enhancing the criminal justice system to be secure, transparent, and evidence-based, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Key Objectives of New Criminal Laws:

• Aim to decolonize the criminal justice framework and make it victim-centric and technology-enabled.
• Introduce mechanisms to speed up justice delivery through technological integration.

Core Principles:

• Emphasis on timely investigation and justice delivery.
• Utilization of technology (e.g., e-Sakshya for electronic evidence, e-Summons for legal notices).
• Introduced community service as an alternative sentencing option.

Technological Innovations:

• e-Sakshya: Electronic evidence management system.
• e-Summons: Digital issuance of legal notices.
• Nyay Shruti: Audio-visual systems for accessible justice.

Judicial Participation:

• The e-Committee of the Supreme Court is pivotal in technological integration for new laws.
• Institutional collaboration is required for effective rollout and improvement of technology applications in the justice system.

Implementation Statistics:

• Notifications on e-Sakshya: Issued by 26 States/UTs.
• Notifications on e-Summons: Issued by 24 States/UTs.
• Nyaya-Shruti (videoconferencing): Implemented by 16 High Courts across 20 States/UTs.
• Community Service as punishment: Adopted by 28 States/UTs.

Training Outcomes:

• 15,30,790 Police Officers trained.
• 12,100 Prosecution Officers trained.
• 43,941 Prison Officers trained.
• 3,036 Forensic Scientists trained.
• 18,884 Judicial Officers trained.

FIR and Case Management:

• 50 lakh FIRs registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
• 33 lakh charge sheets filed.
• 22 lakh Sakshya IDs created.
• 14 lakh victims received automated updates through digital notifications.
• 38,000 Zero FIRs registered since July 1, 2024.

Judicial Collaboration:

• The conference emphasized collaboration among police, prosecution, and judiciary.
• Continuous improvement and institutionalization of reforms are critical.
• Participants engaged in discussions on reforms and digital transformation in criminal justice processes.

Conclusion:

• A culture of collaboration and data-driven decision-making is essential to realize the vision of a modern criminal justice system through the new laws.
• Regular feedback loops among the justice system's components will help identify operational bottlenecks and enhance efficiency.

This conference marks a significant step towards a modernized criminal justice system in India, leveraging technology and promoting efficiency in judicial proceedings.