Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses during the 26th All India Fingerprint Conference 2026, at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Auditorium, in New Delhi on Friday. | Photo Credit: ANI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said active use of technology across the entire chain of investigation, prosecution and conviction should be ensured.

Speaking at the inauguration of the All India Fingerprint Conference-2026 organised by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) here, Shah stressed that not only should the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) be used for identifying criminals, but the database must be enriched by adding fingerprints collected from crime scenes.

"There are numerous such 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 per cent of the time.

"The NAFIS should not be used just for finding criminals, it can succeed only when you enrich the NAFIS data through fingerprints obtained from every crime scene," the home minister said.

It is a two-way system that is very useful in proving the criminal, but the crime can be proven only when data are generated, Shah said.

"When it comes to the criminal justice system, our country is going through a phase of transformation. In the old days, the police station was considered a tool to maintain law and order. If there was a dispute anywhere, the station house officer would resolve the matter; otherwise, it would go to court, and cases would remain pending for years on end," he said.

The time has come to make the criminal justice system a suitable means for every citizen of the country to obtain the rights given by the Constitution, he said.

Shah stressed the need for imparting training for using the tools under the new criminal laws to produce only necessary evidence in the charge sheet which confirms the role of a criminal.

"Fingerprint match confirmed, telephone records match confirmed, face match confirmed, eye and DNA match confirmed, and then you go before the court with 250 pieces of evidence. So what's the use of technology then?" he said.

Experienced prosecutors will have to be prepared by providing practical training, he added.

"We need to work very well for the active use of technology across the entire chain of investigation, prosecution and conviction," the minister said.

Published on June 19, 2026