“No matter how cunning a criminal may be, he cannot escape the combined power of law and science,” Shah said.UNION HOME Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the government is working towards ensuring that the entire criminal justice process — from registration of an FIR to conviction and appeals — is completed within three years, as he stressed greater use of technology, artificial intelligence and scientific evidence in crime investigation.Addressing the inaugural session of the 26th All India Fingerprint Conference 2026 in New Delhi, Shah said the Narendra Modi government has undertaken comprehensive reforms of criminal laws since 2019 with the objective of making science and technology an integral part of the criminal justice system.“NCRB-Abhigyan, CrPI, e-Prosecution 2.0 and e-Forensics 2.0 applications launched today will facilitate the speedy disposal of pending cases and help ensure timely delivery of justice,” Shah said after launching the applications developed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).The Union Home Minister said ensuring justice within three years from the registration of an FIR to conviction is a key objective of the government’s criminal justice reforms and claimed that India has moved close to achieving that goal over the past seven years.Emphasising the importance of scientific investigation, Shah said fingerprints remain among the most crucial forms of evidence and urged states to continuously strengthen the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) database by uploading fingerprints collected from crime scenes.“No matter how cunning a criminal may be, he cannot escape the combined power of law and science,” Shah said.He said the government is moving beyond the traditional force-based policing model towards scientific evidence-based investigation and crime control.Story continues below this adShah also outlined plans for a predictive policing framework that would use artificial intelligence, machine learning and pattern analysis to identify repeat offenders and interstate criminal networks before crimes are committed.According to Shah, databases containing 1.29 crore fingerprint records, nearly 10 lakh narcotics offenders’ records and 3.65 lakh human trafficking records would be transformed into actionable intelligence through advanced analytics.He said the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) has now been implemented in all 17,840 police stations across the country and contains 37.68 crore digital records.The government is also working with the Supreme Court and various High Courts to prepare a blueprint for reducing pendency of cases, Shah said. Efforts are underway to establish evening courts and devise mechanisms to clear pending criminal cases in higher courts, he said.Story continues below this adShah urged the states to create specialised teams using AI and data analytics to analyse crime patterns and offender profiles, while stressing the need for strong cybersecurity safeguards, accountability mechanisms and regular audits to protect criminal databases.