New Delhi, Apr 14: 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.”
Shah underlined that following the directive of PM Modi to get rid the country of colonial-era laws, work on finalizing new criminal laws was carried out between 2019 and 2024.
He noted that extensive discussions during this period revealed the extent to which the outdated laws were harming India’s criminal justice system.
He emphasized that if laws are not updated in accordance with changing times, they become obsolete and irrelevant.
He added that the original intent of the old criminal laws was not to deliver justice to Indian citizens but to uphold British rule.
In contrast, the three new criminal laws introduced under PM Modi’s leadership have been crafted by Indians, for the protection and justice of Indian citizens.
The Union Home Minister said that this represents the most significant legal reform of the 21st century.
He explained that the new laws provide a legal foundation for the use of modern technology and have been designed with a forward-looking approach — incorporating not only current technologies but also anticipating technological developments for the next 100 years.
