Delhi high court asks NIC to develop public platform to upload names of proclaimed offenders
The Delhi High Court has asked the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to develop a software and other facilities for uploading the names and details of proclaimed offenders. This will enable citizens to assist the police by providing information about their whereabouts and help the State take further action against them. The court-appointed committee, led by the Principal District and Sessions Judge (Headquarter), will monitor the implementation of these directions. The court has stated that the data will be initially uploaded on internal servers and later on a public platform developed by the NIC after verification. Justice Talwant Singh, in a recent order, stated that the NIC, under the guidance of the monitoring committee, will be responsible for developing the necessary software and providing the infrastructure, web space, and search facilities for implementing the project. Initially, the data concerning proclaimed offenders/proclaimed persons will be accessible only to authorized individuals until it is checked, re-checked, and verified by the stakeholders. Afterward, it may be uploaded on the public platform specifically designed by the NIC for Delhi District Courts.
In the matter, Senior advocate Arun Mohan appeared as “amicus curiae” (friend of the court), while Justice Singh recently demitted office. The court has ordered that the Delhi Police and district courts will be responsible for uploading the data of proclaimed offenders/proclaimed persons in criminal cases. The Director/In-charge of Inter-operable Criminal Justice System will ensure all possible technical and tactical support for the project. The Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS), initiated by the e-Committee of the Supreme Court, aims to facilitate the seamless transfer of data and information among different pillars of the criminal justice system, such as courts, police, jails, and forensic science laboratories, from one platform.
The court has also specified that, currently, only data of proclaimed offenders in cases registered by the Delhi Police and the accused who have been declared as proclaimed offenders/proclaimed persons in private complaints filed directly in Delhi District Courts may be uploaded. Data related to cases registered by other law enforcement agencies, like the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, may be uploaded after a gap of at least six months, subject to the final decision of the monitoring committee.
Furthermore, the court has mentioned that it expects the officials of Delhi Police and district courts, responsible for uploading the data, to utilize databases like web-search engines and other data available from other agencies to update the information regarding the addresses and other details of the proclaimed offenders/proclaimed persons.
The court has also directed the Delhi Police (Headquarter) to evaluate the required manpower for operating a centralized cell to process and coordinate information on proclaimed offenders. Additionally, it has instructed the Delhi government to forward the suggestion made by the amicus curiae concerning the introduction of legal provisions on the treatment of proclaimed offenders to the appropriate authorities for consideration. The court has asked the monitoring committee to submit its report every three months.
The National Informatics Centre (NIC), established in 1976 under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), serves as the technology partner of the Government of India. The NIC’s objective is to provide technology-driven solutions to central and state governments in various aspects of development, as stated on the NIC website.