Friday, November 20, 2015

E-Police Station In Delhi Would Register Online FIR For Motor Vehicle Theft Cases

Projects like Digital India and Internet of Things (PDF) are very crucial to ensure e-delivery of services in India. Fields like healthcare, Judiciary, dispute resolution, etc can be greatly benefited by the Digital India project. It is equally true that implementation of these projects is not an easy task as they are facing numerous techno legal challenges as well. The paced of India is also very slow in this regard. This has not deterred Indian government to launch ambitious initiatives like National E-Health Authority (NeHA) of India that would strengthen healthcare facilities in India.

It is also necessary that the cyber security of digital India project must also be ensured in such a manner that a balance between civil liberties protection and national security requirements is maintained. Recently the Supreme Court of India struck down (PDF) Section 66A of Information Technology Act, 2000 as it violated freedom to speech and expression. This was a case of enactment of bad law implemented in even worst manner. Due to the indifference and vested interests of Indian government, now even genuine victims of cyber bullying, cyber crimes and sexual offences are left with almost nil remedies. We at Perry4Law’s Techno Legal Base (PTLB) believe that this judgment of Supreme Court must be immediately reviewed in public interest.

In another good initiative undertaken by Indian government, the Delhi Police on Thursday launched their first e-police station to deal exclusively with cases of motor vehicle theft. The pilot project of the “Motor Vehicle Theft (MVT) Application” is now accessible on mobiles and computers. Presently this facility is available only for police stations in South Delhi and the same will be extended to entire Delhi after sorting out technical glitches and other problems. The formal inauguration of the e-police station and the MVT App will be done next month by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after which the e-police station and MVT app will be made available for public use, a senior crime branch officer said.

The best part about the application is that this will enable the complainant to register a First Information Report (FIR) online and instantly receive a copy of the same without going to the police station. The application will also provide an “untraced report” of the stolen vehicle to the complainant within 21 to 30 days of the FIR, helping the complainant seek an insurance claim. This has greatly reduced the mental trauma and inconvenience that victims of vehicles theft used to face till now. We at PTLB welcome this initiative of Delhi Police and are committed to extent all possible assistance to it in this regard.

The other features of the application include electronic matching of stolen and unclaimed vehicles from the centralised databases and timely disposal of vehicle theft cases to reduce pendency at police stations and courts. The MVT application will ensure electronic transmission of digitally signed FIR to the complainant as well as the area SHO, designated Court, insurance company, etc. It will automatically send mobile text messages or emails to the police control room (PCR), all SHOs in Delhi police, district DCPs, state transport authority, all senior superintendents of police (SSPs) across the country, states crime records bureau (SCRB) and national crime records bureau (NCRB) simultaneously. This is the best part about the MVT application as a timely and coordinated action is must to successfully trace stolen vehicles.

Five FIRs related to thefts of vehicles were lodged with the e-police station through online registration. The first online registered FIR was related to theft of a Maruti Omni van falling under the Neb Sarai police station. We at PTLB believe that it would be a good idea to replicate this system for other crimes as well with necessary modifications, if required.