Haryana, Goa, Punjab ace rollout of new criminal laws
NEW DELHI: Haryana, Goa, Assam, Chandigarh and Punjab rank as the top five states/UTs in implementation of the three new criminal laws notified exactly two years ago, according to sources in the Central govt. In fact, 23 of the total 36 states/UTs, including Delhi, lie above the national implementation score of 70.1%, they added.The implementation score of the states/UTs is assessed on parameters such as administrative reforms, operational efficiency, rollout of information and communication technology applications, and integration of criminal justice databases, though their weightage is revised from time to time.Govt sources however acknowledged the comparatively slower rollout in a few states/UTs, particularly those in the north-east and the remote ones on account of connectivity and data speed issues or ones ideologically reluctant to merge their systems with the inter-operable criminal justice system (ICJS) provided for under the new laws. Officials said connectivity hurdles have led the agencies to explore alternative strategies like offline option or backup. Sources told TOI on Tuesday that the govt expects that by Jan 1, 2027, 100% of the investigation, trial and other criminal justice procedures can be done electronically via ICJS 2.0, with the only likely bottleneck being whether the men are trained enough to use the platform.“The past two years have focused not merely on bringing the new criminal laws into force, but on building the legal, administrative, technological and institutional architecture required for their effective implementation across the country,” said an officer.Hand-holding the states/UTs to roll out all pillars of ICJS 2.0 — aimed at delivering justice within three years of filing of the FIR through interoperability between police, courts, jails, forensic labs and prosecution — in the past two years has seen a 25% reduction in time taken for investigation, with procedural time-limits being met in 90% of the cases in some states. An official said over 50% of the country’s 18,000 police stations have attained the required connectivity levels, which is likely to increase to 70% in the next three months.Overall the FIRs registered have grown from 17.8 lakh on July 1, 2024 — when the new criminal laws were enforced — to 74.4 lakh on June 26, 2026. The legal provision for registering zero FIR in the new criminal laws is a major citizen/victim-centric reform, an official said, adding that 63,572 zero-FIRs had been filed by June 2026 (up from 12,821 in 2024).Officials said the new laws have enabled better and faster investigation based on scientific and forensic evidence, and enforcement of 145 different timelines. Also, compliance with the 60-day chargesheet timeline improved to 67% in June 2026 from 51% in July 2024, and with the 90-day timeline to 61% from 39.5%. In nearly 250 cases, the gap between FIR and trial was under six months.Over 117 crore searches have been conducted on the national database under ICJS. Sources said the system to be used by law enforcement agencies, forensics, prosecution, prison and judiciary is in the advanced stages of integration with the case information system of courts. Sustained consultations have been held with all the 36 states/UTs, 25 high courts and the Supreme Court e-committee. Go to Source
