Delhi High Court Directs NCRB And NIC To Explore Integration Of Non-FIR Complaint Cases For Comprehensive Criminal Antecedents

While the Prison Management System (PMS) and Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) provide some data, the Court emphasized that a comprehensive ecosystem requires mapping court-level information, particularly private complaint cases, to ensure judicial accuracy and informed decision-making.

​The Division Bench of Justice Pratibha M Singh and Justice Madhu Jain observed, “Accordingly, issue notice to Director, NCRB as also DDG, NIC with whom the NCRB data base is being managed. Let the aforesaid authorities file status reports as to whether any steps have been contemplated for integrating the following data on the NCRB portal and if so, whether any department is looking into the matter or not: (i) Pending criminal cases against the Prison inmates, apart from the case in which they are lodged in jail; (ii) Complaint cases which do not result in FIRs; (ii) Complaint cases which are pending or decided by the competent Courts.”

Advocate Sudarshan Rajan appeared for the Appellant, while APP Ritesh Kumar Bahri appeared for the Respondent.

Previously, the Court had observed that if the data from the Courts dealing with the criminal cases is also integrated with the National Criminal Record Bureau (‘NCRB’) portal, there would be a comprehensive source for accessing information relating to criminal antecedents of accused as also the convicts.

In this context, the Court had called for status reports from the Director General of Prisons, Delhi, as also from the Commissioner of Police, Delhi. The status report was filed by the Superintendent of Prison Headquarters, Tihar, New Delhi.

The Court said that the perusal of the status report showed that the Delhi Prisons have been maintaining a ‘Prison Management System’ (‘PMS’) since 2004, wherein details of inmates are recorded, including personal particulars, warrant details, case details, along with nominal rolls, etc. The status report clarified that the following data is available on the database: (i)Criminal cases in which the person is taken into custody; (ii) Criminal cases in respect of which production warrants are received during the incarceration of the inmate.

Another status report was filed by the office of the Commissioner of Delhi Police through Deputy Commissioner of Police, which revealed that the NCRB data integrates the data from the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (‘CCTNS’) as also the Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (‘ICJS’). The ICJS integrates data from Police, Courts, Prosecution, Forensic Science Laboratories, and Prisons.

The Commissioner of Police, Delhi, submitted that the comprehensive criminal justice data ecosystem would be strengthened if the data captured by the NCRB could be expanded to include the aforesaid types of cases also.

The Court said, “Heard. In the light of the two status reports that have been placed on record today, this Court is of the opinion that steps ought to be explored for integrating data on the NCRB portal, relating to complaint cases which do not result in FIRs as also complaint cases which are pending or decided by the competent Courts.”

The Court directed that the status report must be filed before the next date of hearing.

Accordingly, the Court listed the matter for a further date.

Cause Title: Praveen Taneja v. State of NCT of Delhi [Neutral Citation:2026:DHC:987-DB]

Appearances:

Appellant: Advocates Sudarshan Rajan and Hitain Bajaj

Respondent: APP Ritesh Kumar Bahri, Advocates Divya Yadav and Lalit Luthra

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