Law enforcement agencies should not consider borders as barriers: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said crime and criminals do not respect geographical boundaries and therefore, different law enforcement agencies should not consider any border as a barrier but as a meeting point for solving crimes.

Addressing the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA)-Commonwealth Lawyers and Advocates Congress (CASGC) here, Shah also said that when the three recently enacted criminal justice laws are implemented, people can obtain high court level within three years Registration of Justice FIR.

He said the meeting was taking place at a time when geographical boundaries were meaningless in terms of business and crime.

The Home Minister said there are cross-border challenges in terms of justice, trade, commerce, communications, but there are no borders in terms of trade and crime.

“Criminal behavior and criminals do not respect geographical boundaries. Therefore, law enforcement agencies should not consider geographical boundaries as obstacles. In the future, geographical boundaries should become the meeting point for solving crimes.”

Shah said governments need to move in this direction because there are links from small-scale cyber fraud to global organized crime, from local disputes to cross-border disputes, and from local crime to terrorism.

Talking about the “Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita”, “Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita” and “Bharatiya Sakshya Act”, he said that after the three new laws are fully implemented, India will have the most modern criminal justice system in the world.

The laws will replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively.

The Home Minister said the government has laid out a model that justice should essentially have three A’s – accessible, affordable and accountable.

“I want to assure everyone that any FIR registered in the country within three years of the implementation of these three laws will get justice up to the High Court,” he said.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)