Uttar Pradesh

• 08 Jan 2025

Implementation of Criminal Laws in UP

Why in News? 

Recently, the Union Home Minister emphasized the need to implement the three new criminal laws in Uttar Pradesh's seven police commissionerates by 31st March 2025. 

• Seven police commissionerates are Varanasi, Lucknow, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Agra, and Kanpur. 

 Key Points 

• Review Meeting: 
  • The Union Minister reviewed the implementation of the three new criminal laws with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. 
  • The review covered the status of provisions related to police, prisons, courts, prosecution, and forensics in Uttar Pradesh. 
• Officials Present in the Review: 
  • Senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Uttar Pradesh government attended the meeting. 
  • Key attendees included the Union Home Secretary, Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), and Director General of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). 
• Directives and Recommendations: 
  • He instructed the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to review progress on the implementation of the new laws in February 2025. 
  • He suggested fortnightly reviews by the Chief Minister and weekly reviews by the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) involving relevant departments. 
  • Use of Technology and Forensic Resources: 
    • He stressed increasing the use of technology, recommending more than one forensic mobile van per district. 
    • Forensic teams should be categorized into serious, common, and very common cases to optimize resource allocation and prioritize critical cases. 
  • Monitoring of Zero FIRs: 
    • He also called for regular monitoring of Zero FIR transfers to the respective states, ensuring accountability and efficiency. 

 Bureau of Police Research and Development 

• The Government of India established it under the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1970. 
• It replaced the Police Research and Advisory Council (1966), with the primary objective of modernization of the police force. 
• In 1995, the Government decided to entrust issues relating to Correctional Administration Work to the BPR&D. 
  • Thereby BPRD has to ensure the implementation of prison reforms as well. 
• The Government of India decided to create a National Police Mission under the administrative control of BPR&D to transform the police forces in the country. 
• In August 2020, it observed its 50th foundation day. 
• It has been publishing data on police organisations since 1986. 

 Zero FIR 

• Zero FIR is an FIR that can be registered by any police station, irrespective of jurisdiction, when it receives a complaint regarding a cognisable offence. 
• No regular FIR number is assigned at this stage. 
• After receiving the Zero FIR, the revenant police station registers a fresh FIR and starts the investigation. 
• It is meant to help victims of serious crimes, especially women and children, to lodge a complaint quickly and conveniently, without having to go from one police station to another. 
• It is also meant to ensure that the evidence and witnesses are not lost or tampered with due to delays in filing the complaint. 
• It is transferred to the relevant police station where the offence has taken place or where the investigation has to be conducted. 

 National Crime Records Bureau 

• NCRB was set up in 1986 to function as a repository of information on crime and criminals to assist the investigators in linking the crime to the perpetrators based on the recommendations of the Tandon Committee, National Police Commission (1977-1981) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Taskforce (1985). 
  • It is part of the MHA and is headquartered in New Delhi. 
• It also acts as a “national warehouse” for the fingerprint records of Indian and foreign criminals, and assists in locating interstate criminals through fingerprint search. 
• The NCRB has four divisions: Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), Crime Statistics, Finger Prints, and Training. 
• NCRB Publications: 
  • Crimes in India, Accidental Deaths and Suicides, Prison Statistics, and Reports on Missing Women and children in India. 
  • These publications serve as principal reference points on crime statistics not only for police officers but also for criminologists, researchers, media and policymakers not only in India but abroad as well.