New Delhi, Jan 30 (Representative) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday chaired a review meeting here on the implementation of the three new criminal laws in Gujarat and asked the state government to ensure its implementation in all commissionerates by April 30. The meeting, attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, reviewed the implementation and present status of various new provisions relating to police, jail, courts, prosecution and forensics in Gujarat, a Home Ministry statement said. During the discussion, Shah said that the essence of the three new criminal laws lies in the provision of delivering justice within three years, from the filing of an FIR till the Supreme Court’s verdict in any case.Appreciating the work done so far by the Gujarat government in implementing the new criminal laws, the Home Minister said that the Gujarat government should ensure the implementation of the new criminal laws in all commissionerates by April 30, and across the entire state at the earliest. He said it should be reviewed monthly by the Chief Minister, fortnightly by the State Home Minister and weekly at the level of Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) and Director General of Police.Shah stated that Gujarat has commendably achieved timely filing of chargesheets in over 92 per ent of cases involving sentences of more than 10 years.
He said that Gujarat has done a commendable job in converting Zero FIRs into 100 percent regular FIRs and emphasised the need to establish a system where FIRs can be transferred between two states through the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). The Home Minister also suggested that Gujarat should adopt CCTNS 2.0.Regarding the provision of electronic evidence in the new laws, he mentioned that the state’s Home and Health Departments should hold meetings to ensure that post-mortem and other medical reports from hospitals are received electronically. Shah said that the police should provide the details of people detained for questioning on the electronic dashboard, along with the seizure list and the cases to be forwarded to the courts. He also directed the state Director General of Police for continuous monitoring of these cases. The Home Minister said that the state government should issue circulars to ensure that provisions of organised crime, terrorism, mob lynching, are not misused.The meeting was attended by Gujarat’s Minister of State for Home, the Union Home Secretary, state Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, Director General of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and senior officials from the Union Home Ministry and the State Government.