A year later — colonial-era laws to new criminal codes, Pg6

Context: 

• India’s three new criminal laws — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) — replaced colonial-era laws in 2024.
•  One year into implementation, challenges and innovations, such as e-Sakshya, are shaping the future of policing and justice delivery.

Key Highlights:

• The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was replaced with BNS, CrPC with BNSS, and the Indian Evidence Act with BSA in 2024.
• Most FIRs are registered digitally via CCTNS, facilitating smooth adaptation to new laws across police stations.
• The e-Sakshya mobile application, developed by NIC in consultation with MHA, enables real-time photo/video capture of evidence with geo-tags and timestamps.
• The app currently supports six BNSS provisions related to search, seizure, witness recording, and custody of property.
• Mandatory forensic expert presence at crime scenes under Section 176 BNSS is improving investigation quality.
• New institutions like National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) in Raipur are being established to strengthen forensic capacity.

Detailed Insights:

• e-Sakshya captures images and videos of crime scenes, creating tamper-proof digital evidence; these are stored in National Government Cloud (NGC) under Sakshya Lockers.
• The app helps ensure that Investigating Officers (IOs) cannot unofficially delegate fieldwork, as selfies and timestamps record their presence.
• Public transparency has increased as evidence is digitally recorded with location and time data, reducing room for manipulation.
• Despite digital storage, courts are not yet directly integrated with Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) for evidence access; IOs still use pen drives, causing duplication and cost.
• IOs use personal mobile phones, as e-Sakshya only supports Android 10+ with 1 GB free storage; many police stations have just one tablet, insufficient for multiple IOs.
• Videos are capped at 4 minutes each, with no cap on total number, but app usability suffers in offline mode due to limited SID creation (max 5).
• Reluctance from accused during electronic recording (e.g., weapons recovery) is noted but expected to decrease as the system matures.
• The app auto-generates hash values (SHA-256) and certificates, authenticating secondary electronic evidence.
• Cybercrime investigations require more support; many state forensic labs aren’t yet notified under the IT Act, delaying expert testimonies.
• Ambiguity in petty offence definitions under Section 303(1) & Section 112 BNS creates inconsistency—e.g., thefts under ₹5000 are non-cognisable, but gambling offences are still registered.
• Section 530 BNSS allows video conferencing for witness examination, including IOs, but is not yet widely implemented.
• Delayed post-mortem reports continue to be a major pain point for IOs, impacting rape and homicide case timelines.

Broader Implications:

• The success of India’s criminal justice reforms hinges not just on law but on infrastructure, digital capacity, and judicial responsiveness.
• Highlights the need for collaborative reform — across police, judiciary, health, and IT sectors.

Way Forward

• Direct ICJS access for courts to remove redundancy in evidence handling.
• More devices (phones/tablets) and Android support for IOs to prevent reliance on personal gadgets.
• State-level cyber forensic labs must be notified under the IT Act.
• Regular feedback loops from IOs and stakeholders for continuous refinement.
• Public and police sensitisation on tech-driven processes to reduce resistance and misuse.

Key Concepts Involved: 

• Hashing & Digital Authentication:
  Hashing: Creating a unique digital fingerprint for data.
  Digital Authentication: Confirming identities or data integrity using digital certificates and security protocols.
• ICJS & CCTNS:
  ICJS: Digital system linking police, courts, jails, forensics, and prosecution.
  CCTNS: National network for police information sharing and management.
• Geo-tagging & Timestamping:
  Geo-tagging: Attaching location data to evidence.
  Timestamping: Recording exact time of evidence creation or handling.
• Cloud Storage & Digital Chain of Custody:
  Cloud Storage: Storing data on remote servers for access and backup.
  Digital Chain of Custody: Tracking and documenting evidence handling in digital form.