All crime probe files must be in digital format, says Karnataka HC

The FIR, charge sheet and other documents in digital format will be shared through the ICJS, the court said

The Dharwad bench of the Karnataka High Court has directed the state police chief to establish a task force for digitising the entire investigation process to maintain and share records with courts.

A division bench headed by Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order after coming across illegible handwritten documents and a faulty investigation.

The task force will comprise police IT heads, principal secretary of the e-Governance department, a nominee from the director of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and a representative of the director of the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems).

“It is therefore required that first information reports, crime detail forms, arrest memos, search/seizure lists, mahazars, statements, documents obtained during investigation from hospitals, road transport authorities, FSL; final report in the form of charge sheets, B reports, C reports etc., are digitally generated, signed and shared with courts handling bail matters, trial matters, appellate matters and revisional matters,” the court said.

The court further said that investigating officers (IO) will digitally sign the documents.

"When such digital signatures are not available, physical signatures of such persons to be obtained are scanned and uploaded into the police IT system and digitally signed by the person uploading," the court ruled.

The FIR, charge sheet and other documents in digital format will be shared through the Interoperable Criminal Judicial System (ICJS) with the courts, the bench said.

The DGP should instruct the IOs to record the statement digitally in the appropriate software rather than by hand, it said and instructed the DGP to hold refresher course for all IOs and have a SOP for investigating different crimes.

The DGP has to prescribe the penalty of disciplinary proceedings if the SOP is not adhered to, the court stated. The court said the IOs should be sensitised to the procedures to be followed while marking digital evidence, including the recording of dying declarations.

The matter was posted for compliance on December 5, 2022.

The case before the court

The ruling came as the court acquitted a person and his mother, both from Mudhol, Bagalkot district, while hearing an appeal.

The trial court had sentenced the man to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife in September 2016 while his mother was sentenced to three years imprisonment for the ill-treatment of her daughter-in-law.

Although the case sheet mentioned that the deceased was admitted to hospital on account of burn injuries caused by a stove explosion, the IO neither visited the kitchen nor was a sketch of the kitchen or any photographs of the kitchen placed on record.

The bench observed that the investigation was silent on the existence or otherwise of this crucial aspect.

In this case, the dying declaration was recorded by an assistant sub-inspector on his mobile phone. The recording was transferred from his mobile phone onto a CD in a shop. Hence, there was no certificate in terms of section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act and it was not marked in the evidence.