Chief Justice of India Chandrachud said that the premier investigative agencies are stretched too thin and they must only focus on cases that involve national security and crimes against the nation.
His remarks came on April 1 while delivering a lecture on CBI Raising Day.
Justice Chandrachud pointed out that the CBI is increasingly being asked to investigate a diverse array of criminal cases apart from its original role of anti-corruption.
"The CBI is being increasingly asked to delve into a diverse array of criminal cases beyond its role as anti-corruption investigative agency. This places a huge responsibility on CBI to live up to its motto," Justice Chandrachud said.
"I think we have spread out the premier investigative agencies too thin. They must only focus on those that concern national security and crimes of economic offences against the nation," he further said.
Asking the enforcement agencies to "pick their battles", the CJI said that they should focus on crimes that threaten the security and economic health of the country and public order, instead of spreading out too thinly in various cases.
He also suggested leveraging the power of technology in the investigation process, starting from the e-filing of the first information reports. He said that digitization can lower delays due to the high volume of cases.
"All arms of the criminal justice administration and all stakeholders including the FSLs must collaborate by holding workshops to help confront challenges we face," he said.
He also talked about the potential of artificial intelligence in solving crimes, Chandrachud said that AI can revolutionise criminal justice and added it can be used to mine potential leads and data "with unprecedented accuracy".
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