Nationwide Implementation of Interoperable Criminal Justice System

Nationwide Implementation of Interoperable Criminal Justice System

#GS-2 #Governance & Social Justice #E-Governance #GS-3 #Science & Technology #ICT #Current Events #National

Why in News

  • The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced that the nationwide rollout of the Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) is progressing as scheduled.
  • Starting January 1, 2027, all police investigations and court trials under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSS) will be recorded digitally.

About ICJS

  • The Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) is a central digital platform that connects all key branches of the criminal justice system together.
  • This platform replaces old paper files with a safe online database hosted on the government's MeghRaj cloud infrastructure.
  • The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) under the Ministry of Home Affairs functions as the primary nodal agency for this initiative.
  • The National Informatics Centre (NIC) designed and developed the entire technology structure for this system.

Objectives of ICJS

  • Under the One Data, Once Entry rule, officers enter case information only once, making it available across all departments instantly.
  • The system promotes SMART Policing by shifting from physical records to a paperless, data-driven justice framework.

Five-Pillar Architecture and Key Features

  • The CCTNS component connects over 16,000 police stations nationwide and enables FIR registration in 23 languages using Bhashini for Zero-FIR translation.
  • The e-Courts and e-Prosecution systems digitize court files, legal notices, evidence tracking, and prosecutor workflows for faster trials.
  • The e-Prisons portal manages a centralized database of inmates using biometric data and provides online tools like e-Mulaqat.
  • The e-Forensics module links police stations directly with Forensic Science Laboratories (FSLs) to speed up reports for serious crimes punishable by 7 years or more.
  • The platform tracks statutory timelines for filing chargesheets under new criminal laws and implements the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022.

Significance of ICJS

  • By connecting investigation, prosecution, and trial procedures online, ICJS speeds up case handling and improves compliance with timelines for chargesheets.
  • Linking police, courts, prisons, forensics, and prosecutors enables advanced AI data analysis and leads to evidence-backed judicial decisions.