Implement new criminal laws in Maharashtra, HM urges CM Fadnavis

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday directed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to implement three new criminal laws across all commissionerates in the state as soon as possible. Shah issued the directive during a review meeting on the implementation of these laws, attended by CM Fadnavis, officials from the Maharashtra government, and the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi. Chairing the meeting, Shah also urged the Maharashtra government to establish an ideal Directorate of Prosecution system in line with the new laws—the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023—which replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively. 
He emphasized that efforts should be made to achieve over 90 per cent conviction rate in cases with sentences of more than 7 years, and that the police, government lawyers, and judiciary should work together to ensure that the guilty are punished as swiftly as possible. Shah also said that a system should be implemented where FIRs can be transferred between two states through the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). He recommended that Maharashtra should adopt CCTNS 2.0 and ICJS 2.0. The Home Minister stressed the recruitment of forensic experts and urged the prompt filling of vacant positions in the forensic department and  integrate state's fingerprint identification system with the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS). 
The meeting reviewed the current status of new provisions related to policing, jails, courts, prosecution, and forensics in Maharashtra. Shah emphasized that the core objective of these laws, introduced under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, is to ensure justice is delivered within three years—from the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) to the Supreme Court’s verdict.