Use techno-legal mode to deal with new age crimes, Vaishnaw tells CBI

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take a techno-legal approach to deal with the new-age crimes and collaborate with the academia and industries in the light of the changes being brought about by artificial intelligence on economic, social and technological fronts.

Delivering the 21st DP Kohli memorial lecture on the 62nd foundation day of the CBI at Bharat Mandapam, the minister said, “An AI agent can commit a crime. The ethical question that will arise then is who has committed the crime and whom to arrest? Can you arrest an AI agent? Is it the AI creating company that is liable or is it the AI agent that is liable? These are the changes which are happening in society today. For such changes which are taking place on the economic, social and technological fronts, I request the CBI and its great team to look at more collaborations.”

Underscoring that law alone will not be sufficient, Vaishnaw, who also holds the information and broadcasting, and electronics and information technology portfolios, said “we need techno-legal approach to address the challenges posed by new-age crimes and investigation”, and urged the premier agency to take the lead in building state-of-the-art cyber forensic laboratories by actively partnering with academic and research institutions.

He further highlighted the need for institutional frameworks that facilitate such collaborations and suggested that ministries and departments such as MeitY, department of telecommunications (DoT), and department of science and technology (DST) work closely with investigative agencies to co-create technologies required for modern-day law enforcement.

Vaishnaw stressed that “the future of effective criminal justice lies in combining legal frameworks with technological capability and institutional innovation”, for which he urged the CBI to collaborate with the startups, industries and academia.

“Our academia, our scientists, our researchers today possess remarkable strength and capabilities. This strength must be harnessed by investigating agencies, law officers, and government departments to co-develop technological solutions,” he added.

Reflecting on India’s transformative journey over the past decade, Vaishnaw spoke about India’s rapid economic growth, strong governance, and technological leadership.

Speaking at the event, CBI director Praveen Sood said 2024 has been a historic year for the agency as it has achieved many goals in terms of reducing the pendency of cases, filing more charge sheets and better international cooperation.

According to the data accessed by HT, CBI disposed of a record 1,467 cases (1,293 charge sheets and 174 closure reports) in 2024. Prior to this, CBI could only manage to finalise probes in less than 1,000 cases every year.

Sood also said that due to excellent international cooperation, 204 Interpol notices were issued in 2024 on the request of Indian agencies and police forces and 30 accused persons were extradited to India.

He also highlighted the sensitive cases like NEET, NET exam papers leak, RG Kar Medical College rape and human trafficking of Indians to Russia, which were investigated by the CBI in 2024.