Three New Criminal Laws in Maharashtra – Amit Shah Calls for Prompt FIR Registration
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah chaired a review meeting in New Delhi today to assess the implementation of three new criminal laws in Maharashtra. The meeting, held in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, brought together top officials including the Union Home Secretary, Maharashtra’s Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police, the Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), and the Director General of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), among others.
During the session, Amit Shah stressed the critical need for prompt FIR registration to strengthen law and order. He asserted that any delay in filing FIRs could impede the justice process and emphasized that Maharashtra should establish a model Directorate of Prosecution system aligned with the new criminal laws. The Minister outlined an ambitious target to achieve over a 90% conviction rate for cases with sentences exceeding seven years, urging the police, government lawyers, and judiciary to collaborate closely for swift punishment of offenders.
Further discussions focused on enhancing operational efficiency across the criminal justice system. Shah called for senior police officers to regularly monitor cases involving organized crime, terrorism, and mob lynching, to prevent misuse of legal provisions. He proposed the use of video conferencing to record evidence in prisons, government hospitals, banks, and forensic science laboratories. Additionally, he recommended that FIRs be transferable between states via the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), advocating for the adoption of CCTNS 2.0 and ICJS 2.0 by Maharashtra.
Addressing technological improvements, the Home Minister highlighted the importance of an electronic dashboard to update information on individuals held in custody for interrogation and the need for better internet connectivity in police stations. He also underscored the necessity for forensic science mobile vans in every police sub-division, along with the prompt recruitment of forensic experts to fill existing vacancies.
Amit Shah further urged the integration of Maharashtra’s fingerprint identification system with the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS). He also emphasized establishing a system for returning property recovered from criminals to its rightful owners as per the new laws, and called for improvements in the aesthetics of police stations. The meeting concluded with a directive for the Chief Minister of Maharashtra to conduct bi-weekly reviews on the implementation of these laws, while the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police were tasked with weekly monitoring.
