Technological Transformation In Criminal Investigation: Navigating Progress And Privacy Under The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
- IJLLR Journal
- Nov 12, 2025
- 1 min read
Arshad Alam, Assistant Professor, Sardar Patel Subharti Institute of Law, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut
ABSTRACT
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 marks a transformative shift in India's criminal procedural framework, replacing the colonial-era Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The new law institutionalizes digital integration across every phase of the criminal justice process, including e-FIR registration, electronic communication of summons, digital casetracking systems, and audio-visual recording of search, seizure, and statement-recording procedures. These initiatives aim to promote expeditious investigation, strengthen evidentiary integrity, and enhance judicial transparency.
However, rapid technological adoption also introduces complex concerns relating to data protection, cyber-vulnerabilities, surveillance risks, and institutional capacity-building. This paper critically examines the operational architecture of BNSS-driven digital reforms, interrogates constitutional implications particularly in light of the fundamental right to privacy and procedural fairness evaluates practical implementation challenges, and proposes a rightsbased framework to ensure that technological modernization complements the constitutional ethos of justice, liberty, and due process.
