Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, today inaugurated the new building of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Kolkata, in West Bengal. On this occasion, the Union Home Secretary and several other dignitaries were present.

In his address, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Government of India is working with a vision to build a secure, transparent, and evidence-based criminal justice system. He said that today, another important link is being added to this effort. He stated that the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), built in Kolkata at a cost of ₹88 crore, will help West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Sikkim, and all the states of the Northeast in developing an evidence-based criminal justice system and in fulfilling the role with a holistic approach. Shri Shah said that in the implementation of our three new criminal laws, this FSL will play a significant role in understanding, adopting, and delivering the importance of evidence, forensic science, and securing convictions to every police station.

Union Home Minister said that the Modi government is working to establish a network of FSLs across the country by forming clusters of 3–4 states to make their criminal justice systems evidence-based. He said that with this cluster approach, a campaign will be launched from January 2026 to take forensic science down to the police station level, to establish its importance as evidence in every court, and to make every investigating officer in police stations understand its significance. Through this, the criminal justice system across the country will be transformed from being based on argument to being evidence-based, ensuring that the guilty do not benefit from the benefit of doubt and that justice is delivered to the victim. Shri Shah said that this entire process is only possible when police stations, public prosecutors, and courts understand its importance, adopt it, and give it priority in their functioning. He added that by creating an FSL network and adopting a cluster approach, the involvement of experts in complex cases will lead to decisions being made more efficiently, resulting in a radical transformation of the entire criminal justice system. He also mentioned that today, the Narcotics Version 2.0 and Explosives Version 2.0 have been formally launched, which will simplify various tasks for forensic science laboratories across the country.

Shri Amit Shah said that today, in the 21st century, when our transactions, communication, identity, and basic details are all being stored in one place, the nature of crime is also changing rapidly. He said it is very important that those who prevent crime stay two steps ahead of the criminals, and if we do not use science and clear laws in this effort, we cannot stay ahead of the criminals. He stated that major financial scams are now being exposed through forensic audits, and our criminal justice system is entering a new era.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) are laws made by the Parliament elected by the people of India to protect the constitutional rights of the people of India. He stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the Government of India has abolished the 160-year-old laws made by the British and has introduced new laws for a new India. He said this is a revolutionary change in the direction of delivering justice to the people, as now the guilty will not be able to escape due to lack of evidence. He added that these laws have already incorporated and defined all potential technological changes that may occur in the next 100 years.

Shri Amit Shah said that the new criminal laws have provided a legal basis for the use of technology in crime scene investigation and trial. He stated that in offences punishable with more than seven years of imprisonment, the visit of a forensic science team has been made mandatory. He said that these laws ensure timely justice, with a provision for filing the chargesheet within 60 days. He added that now, in nearly 60 percent of cases, chargesheets are being filed within 60 days, which is a major achievement. He also stated that through "trial in absentia," trials will be conducted and punishments will be pronounced even in the absence of absconders, and they will be brought back using international agreements. He said that 17,184 police stations in the country are connected to CCTNS, are online, and their data is being generated collectively.

Union Home Minister said that the Government of India has offered support for one forensic mobile van in every district, and many states have increased the number of vans on their own based on the number of FIRs registered. He stated that 16 campuses of the National Forensic Science University (NFSU) have been approved, 7 have been established, and the rest are in process. He said that, in addition to this, an NFSU college will be set up in every major state to ensure the availability of trained manpower. He noted that from 26 campuses across the country, 36,000 students will graduate annually with degrees, diplomas, and PhDs, while the country’s requirement is 30,000 trained professionals per year. In this way, the task of creating human resources as per the requirement has been completed in advance. Shri Shah added that 9 more NFSU campuses will be built at a cost of ₹1,300 crore, and 7 new CFSLs will be established at a cost of ₹860 crore in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Bihar. He said the Ministry of Home Affairs has supported the forensic science infrastructure of the states. He also mentioned that a ₹2,080 crore plan is being introduced for the modernization of forensic capabilities, and a National Forensic Data Centre will be established at a cost of ₹200 crore.

Shri Amit Shah said that our Constitution-makers infused the spirit of freedom into the Constitution, but we have begun the work of implementing it on the ground very late. He said that it is our responsibility to ensure that even the poorest person can walk into a police station with dignity and confidence in the system, and receive justice through the legal process in the shortest possible time.

*****

RK/VV/PR/PS