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.
Amit Shah urges tech-led criminal justice system, stronger fingerprint database
Union Home Minister Amit Shah emphasized the crucial role of technology in the criminal justice system, advocating for its full integration from investigation to conviction. Speaking at the All India Fingerprint Conference, Shah urged for the expanded use of the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS). He stressed that NAFIS's database needs to be enriched with crime scene fingerprints to effectively prove crimes and secure citizens' constitutional rights.
Amit Shah urges tech-driven justice modernization, stressing NAFIS at only 10% utilization capacity. Government digital transformation signals demand for AI identity-verification, data-enrichment, and law-enforcement governance infrastructure.









