PM Modi’s vision changed landscape of country’s criminal justice system: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision changed the entire landscape of the country's criminal justice system.

Shah, who was the chief guest at the All India Forensic Science Summit 2025 organized by the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) here said, “Under the leadership of PM Modi, we are striving to make the justice system people-centric and scientific. Efforts are also being made to ensure that those seeking justice get justice on time and also have the satisfaction of getting justice. Through this, our aim is to create a safe, capable and competent India.”

To strengthen the criminal justice system, the Government of India has brought three new criminal laws in the form of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), he added.

The conference on the theme of 'Role of Forensic Science in Effective Implementation of New Criminal Laws and Combating Terrorism' was attended by many dignitaries including Justice V Ramasubramanian, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Attorney General R Venkataramani, Rajya Sabha MP and Chairman, Bar Council of India Manan Kumar Mishra, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and Vice Chancellor, NFSU Dr. J. M. Vyas.

Shah said, “Forensics is not a new idea in our country. Its detailed description is found in Charak Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Kautilya's Arthashashtra. Acharya Kautilya has guided the world in detail on topics like toxicology, identification of poison, body language of suspects, and identification of accused on the basis of speech.”

He said, “PM Modi’s visionary leadership brought significant transformation to the country’s criminal justice system. A system has been established where neither the accused nor the complainant is subjected to injustice. To ensure this balance, integrating forensic science into the criminal justice process is essential.”

“Without forensic science, it is not possible to deliver timely justice and increase the rate of conviction. The entire scenario of crime has changed today. Now criminals use different means of technology, information and communication, due to which crime has now become borderless,” Shah said.

“Earlier, crime used to happen in a small part of a district, state or country, but now crime has become borderless. Modern crimes now transcend city, state, national, and even international boundaries,” the Home Minister added.  

He said, “Seven campuses of the National Forensic Sciences University have been established in different states of the country. Nine more campuses will be established in the next 6 months. “

Apart from these, he said, the establishment of 10 more campuses is proposed. “There will be no state in the country where there is no campus of National Forensic Sciences University. We will work to make each campus the best unit in the world by giving it one subject. The students of the university will be helped in research and development so that they achieve heights in research and make the campus the best in the allotted subject. “

The Union Home Minister said that after its completion, every year 36000 diploma and degree holder youth will pass out from these campuses and strengthen our criminal justice system.

Shah said, “There is a need for 30,000 trained professionals to visit every crime scene where the punishment is more than seven years. Each year, around 36,000 students will graduate from the National Forensic Sciences University, many of whom will go on to work in private forensic laboratories as well. He further mentioned that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is working on an agreement between private and government Forensic Science Laboratories (FSLs), allowing certain samples received by government FSLs to also be analyzed by private labs.”

Shah said that NFSU is advancing into several emerging fields, including drone forensics, smart city forensics, marine forensics, and corporate forensics.

He also highlighted the growing international presence of NFSU, stating that around 240 foreign students are currently enrolled, and that the university will continue to expand globally in the coming years.