The digital push for the criminal justice system aims for full rollout by next year
From 1 January 2027, procedures related to all investigations and trials under the new criminal laws will be digitally recorded, a senior Home Office official said on Tuesday (30 June 2026).
The official said the nationwide rollout of the Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) – which integrates the police, courts, prisons, forensics and prosecution – is expected to be completed soon, with an emphasis on a comprehensive digital workflow.
The data will be stored in the MeghRaj government cloud platform. However, data kept by the National Crime Records Bureau showed that the courts’ take-up of First Information Reports (FIRs), the process by which cases are electronically transmitted and received by court systems, was at 46%, less than half of the cases registered.
Three new penal codes Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Sakshya Sanhita (BSS) and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) replaced the Indian Penal Code (1860), the Indian Evidence Act (1872) and the Penal Code (1898). These came into effect on July 1, 2024, and 74.66 thousand FIRs were filed under the BNS in the last two years. As these laws require modernized infrastructure and forensic capabilities, states and Union Territories have five years to implement all pillars of the criminal justice system.
Support for zero-FIRs
As many as 63,572 zero-FIRs, i.e. those that can be filed regardless of jurisdiction, have been registered under the BNSS. Although the provision existed earlier, the BNSS gave the provision statutory support. The official said around 13,000 zero FIRs were lodged in different districts of the same state and fell under the category of “intra-state transfers”.
Crime and Criminal Tracking and Network Systems, the platform used to lodge FIRs in the country’s 16,000 police stations, has the ability to register cases in 23 languages and the Bhashini app can translate zero FIRs into the language used in the respective jurisdiction, the official said.
“A police officer cannot refuse a complainant from filing a zero FIR. After registration, the case is handed over to the concerned police station and it can further decide based on the investigation whether it wants to close the case or continue the investigation,” the official said.
Of the 36 states and UTs, Haryana, Goa, Assam, Punjab and Chandigarh have implemented all parameters of the judiciary, while 23 states, including Delhi, are above the national average. The official said that due to connectivity issues, some northeastern states are lagging behind.
More forensic labs
As the new laws make forensic examination of crime scenes mandatory in cases punishable by seven years or more, up to 25 new forensic laboratories (FSLs) have been added in the last two years, bringing the total number of laboratories from 129 in 2023 to 154 in 2025.
While in 2023 forensic laboratories received 8,44,589 cases for investigation, of which 4,64,879 were pending, in 2025 it was 11,11,798 and 3,90,786 were pending. More than 700 mobile forensic units have been deployed so far.
After the implementation of the new laws, the national implementation score increased from 46.47% (January 2025) to 70.06% (June 2026). 60-day compliance with the loading sheet increased from approximately 51% to 67%, and compliance at 90 days increased from approximately 40% to 61%. In addition, 46.5 million Digital Evidence (Sakshya) IDs were generated and 56.74 million e-summons were served. As on 31 May 2026, there are 37.68 million police records comprising 9.9 million FIRs and 7.64 million charges in the database which can be accessed by the police and investigating agencies.
A ministry official said improving internet connectivity, especially in remote and northeastern parts of the country, standardizing processes across states, ensuring full interoperability between all criminal justice platforms and training personnel are some of the challenges ahead.
Published – 30 Jun 2026 22:43 IST