Amit Shah urges tech-led criminal justice system, stronger fingerprint database

New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the active use of technology across the entire chain of investigation, prosecution, and conviction must be ensured. Shah was speaking at the inauguration of the All India Fingerprint Conference-2026, organised by the National Crime Records Bureau.

The home minister further stressed that the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) should not only be used for identifying criminals, but that the database must also be enriched with fingerprints collected from crime scenes. "There are numerous cases where NAFIS has been of great help in simplifying even the most complex cases. But I still believe that NAFIS is being utilised only 10% of the time," Shah noted.

"NAFIS should not be used just for identifying criminals. It can succeed only when its database is enriched through fingerprints obtained from every crime scene. It is a two-way system that is very useful in identifying a criminal, but a crime can be proven only when data is generated," he said. The time has come to make the criminal justice system a suitable means for every citizen to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, Shah added.