The Dangers of a Centralised Database for Justice System

The Supreme Court’s e-committee, headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud, is tasked with integrating digital technologies in courts to enhance judicial productivity and efficiency. In the third phase of this project, the expert sub-committee has published a draft document to articulate its vision to put in place an interoperable digital architecture that, among other things, facilitates “easy” data-sharing among all pillars of the criminal justice system — the police, prosecutors, prisons and courts. The Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS), launched in 2019, is set to be fully operational, and will replace the existing need-based physical exchange of information. It will integrate existing centralised data systems such as the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), e-prisons and e-courts, promising “seamless exchange of live data” among these branches. Critics have raised privacy concerns, given the absence of data protection laws, and questioned the implications of the data being housed in the home ministry for judicial independence...