Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on April 1 mentioned that within the period of digital transformation, the interaction between regulation and know-how may end up in higher crime detection and likewise guarantee felony justice reform.

Justice Chandrachud made the remarks whereas delivering the twentieth D.P. Kohli Memorial Lecture on ‘Adopting Technology to Advance Criminal Justice’, on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Raising Day.

Sounding a cautionary observe, he mentioned: “From issues of jurisdiction and privacy to questions of accountability and transparency, the integration of technology into our criminal justice system requires careful consideration of the ethical, legal, and societal implications at play.”

“In embracing the capabilities of technology, we reaffirm our commitment to the principles of fairness, equity, and accountability. By leveraging these tools responsibly and ethically, we ensure that the benefits of technological advancement reach all members of society, regardless of their background or circumstances. However, it is imperative to prioritise ethical considerations in the utilisation of these technologies,” mentioned Justice Chandrachud.

AI safeguards

He referred to as for clear pointers and safeguards to stop misuse or abuse of Artificial Intelligence and different superior applied sciences, safeguard privateness rights, and handle biases which may inadvertently come up.

Stating that probe companies ought to sustain with radical adjustments in crime in a digitally related world, the Chief Justice mentioned the worldwide nature of crime additionally necessitated in depth coordination and collaboration with counterparts overseas, which might decelerate the investigative course of, other than fashionable instruments of investigation.

He really useful multidisciplinary groups consisting of regulation enforcement officers and area specialists, together with knowledge analysts, to take care of such instances. “The CBI can be upgraded by reassessing the challenges of our changing times and by making structural reforms in the CBI,” he mentioned.

Under the auspices of the Department of Personnel and Training, he mentioned the company had undergone important reforms, on the centre of which was the organising of the Network for Evidence Tracing, Research, and Analysis (NETRA) Lab. “…NETRA represents a leap forward in CBI’s ability to analyse electronic evidence, including mobile devices, cloud storage, and e-Discovery… plays a crucial role in expediting the investigation process and delivering justice swiftly and efficiently,” mentioned the CJI.

Justice Chandrachud mentioned the brand new felony legal guidelines enacted just lately by Parliament encompassed substantive crime, process and proof, which aimed toward digitising numerous elements of felony process, a major step in direction of modernising the justice system.

Main considerations

The Chief Justice flagged two primary considerations associated to digital transformation, the primary being the danger of people with out Internet entry or technological proficiency getting excluded. “Thus, there is a pressing need to ensure that the benefits of digitisation are equitably distributed and that mechanisms are in place to address the digital divide. Secondly, particular attention must be paid to the digitalisation of foundational processes such as the filing of FIRs to streamline and trace back the sequence of events and enhance transparency from the outset,” he mentioned.

He mentioned investigations must be synchronised with court docket procedures for efficient and time-bound prosecutions. Given the complicated nature of investigations undertaken by the CBI, he mentioned, the courts had a herculean activity of “de-complexification of the case and ensuring that the parameters of the law are followed to dispense justice”.

“Our challenges today and tomorrow require an institutional commitment; a commitment which requires dedicated finance to upgrade infrastructure, synergies between different wings of the criminal justice administration; and calibrated strategies to train all the personnel to understand the rapid changes in the environment,” he mentioned.

He recommended {that a} multi-pronged method be adopted to combine know-how with court docket procedures, with a purpose to make sure that the severity of accusation coupled with extreme delays in CBI courts don’t translate to a presumption of guilt.

The CJI mentioned a digital court docket mannequin had just lately been developed by the e- Committee of the Supreme Court. When carried out as a pilot undertaking, it could allow simultaneous conversion of speech into textual content. “A mobile application could be designed with predefined timelines corresponding to different stages of investigation or trial…it should include an alert system to notify relevant parties when approaching deadlines are imminent,” he mentioned.

Speaking in regards to the technological instruments of investigation, the CJI mentioned superior knowledge analytics was utilized by probe companies to navigate by way of huge quantities of knowledge, uncovering patterns, and connections which may in any other case stay hid. In murder investigations, forensic specialists within the U.S. utilised superior DNA evaluation strategies to match genetic materials discovered on the crime scene with a suspect.

The CJI mentioned AI stood out as a game-changer. An identification instrument within the U.S. had helped establish over 17,000 youngsters, who had fallen sufferer to intercourse trafficking, leading to a 63% discount within the investigation time. “…however, we must acknowledge that AI is not free of prejudice and biases. Because of skewed data, AI may lead to community-based profiling of marginalised social groups as having more crimes…,” he mentioned.

He additionally mentioned there was a necessity to keep up the fragile steadiness between search and seizure powers, and particular person privateness rights stood on the cornerstone of a good and simply society. A petition was just lately filed within the Supreme Court highlighting the absence of well-defined authorized frameworks governing the procedures for digital machine searches and seizures. The Supreme Court directed Union companies to stick to the 2020 CBI (Crime) Manual on Digital Evidence till formal pointers have been established.