HM Amit Shah addresses valedictory session of the International Lawyers Conference 2023 in Delhi

New Delhi, September 25

Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the valedictory session of the International Lawyers Conference 2023 organized by the Bar Council of India at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Several dignitaries, including Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, were present on this occasion.

In his address, HM Amit Shah said that the conference has been organized at a very important and appropriate time as the year marks the completion of 75 years of the making of our Constitution, and in the current year, the Indian Parliament is also working towards making significant amendments to the three main laws of our criminal justice system- IPC, CrPC, and Evidence Act. 

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has initiated India's commitment to realize the concept of Women-led Development before the entire world through the G 20 Summit, and recently, the Parliament has passed the law ensuring the participation of 33% women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures to make this vision a reality.

He added that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has positioned itself at the forefront in various sectors globally, during the past 9 years. He said that India has successfully improved its global ranking from 11th to 5th place in the world's economy, in the past 9 years. He said that under Narendra Modi's leadership, India is taking the lead in addressing global challenges such as global warming, terrorism and narco-terrorism etc. 

Shah emphasized that in such times, it is essential for our justice system to be aware of global changes, align itself accordingly, reaffirm the fundamental principles of Indianness within our legal system, and make efforts to lead the world in this direction.

Amit Shah said that justice is the force that ensures balance, and for this reason, the framers of our Constitution consciously made a decision to keep it separate. He said that a balance is essential between justice and all forms of power for the creation of a just society. 

He added that in the past 9 years, India has made efforts to redraft or create new laws for various sectors according to contemporary needs. Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi in the last 9 years, the Indian government has made changes to many laws, such as the Arbitration Law, Mediation Law, and the Jan Vishwas Bill, which are helping reduce the burden on the judiciary. He added that the Jan Vishwas Bill has helped eliminate more than 300 sections of Criminal Liability from over 300 laws, and thus transforming them into Civil Liability. 

Shah said that as a result of these efforts, people have been instilled with a new kind of confidence. He added that the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Act has worked towards aligning our evolving economy with the global standards.

He added that the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Act has worked towards aligning our evolving economy with the global standards. He said that one should prepare well and keep an open mind to correct the errors in the laws. He added that it is crucial for any government, parliament, or law-making agency to understand that a law is not final in its form and it should be amended based on the issues that arise with time and its implementation. He said that the purpose of making laws is to establish an efficient system, and not to establish the supremacy of those who make the laws. He added that the new laws of Social Security Code and the Data Protection Bill are to work towards bringing significant changes within their respective domains and help align with international standards.

Shah said that the MHA is working on the concept of Inter Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) since 2018. He said that work under phase one has been completed, the work of making 98% of the police stations of the country online under Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) and making all the legacy data online has been completed. Now a provision of Rs 3500 crore has been made to move forward in the direction of E-Prosecution, E-Prison, E-Forensics and E-Court. 

He said that till now more than 32 crore data items have been made online, more than 14 crore data items of CIS for lower courts have also been made online, data of 2 crore prisoners and more than one crore prosecutions has also been made online. Apart from this, more than 17 lakh forensic data items have also been made online.

Modi government has allocated about Rs 7000 crore for E-Courts. 

He said that when the technical upgradation of the courts and prosecution agencies is done, then all these systems will be connected through ICGS. Shri Shah said that these three criminal laws are an effort to make our justice process citizen centric by making radical changes for a long time.