Naxal Violence is Breathing Its Last: Amit Shah

New Delhi: Underscoring that India’s decades-long battle against left-wing extremism has entered its endgame, Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said Naxal violence was “breathing its last” and will be eliminated nationwide by March 2026, and asserted that the country’s overhauled criminal laws will push conviction rates to 80 per cent and deliver final court verdicts within three years of an FIR.

Addressing the 79th Raising Day parade of the Delhi police, Mr Shah said the fight against Maoist violence had entered its final phase after sustained security operations and development interventions across affected regions. “We are very close to completely eradicating Naxalism, and we will certainly succeed in making the entire country free from Naxal violence by March this year,” he said.

Delhi police commissioner Satish Golcha and senior officials were present during the event.

Mr Shah described the last 12 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “golden era” for India’s internal security architecture, citing progress in Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast and the left-wing extremism belt. Naxalism, which once spread across 11 states, had long posed a major internal security challenge, he said, adding that coordinated operations between Central and state police forces had significantly shrunk its geographical footprint.

In the Northeast, he said more than 10,000 youth had laid down arms and joined the mainstream through over a dozen peace accords signed in recent years. The home ministry would now focus on strengthening border management and surveillance systems to ensure that “not even a single infiltrator” can cross into the country, he said.

The home minister also outlined plans to build a nationwide grid of CCTV surveillance as part of a modernised internal security framework. “The entire focus of the MHA will remain on modernising the security system at every land border of the country, making the nation free from infiltrators, and full implementation of the three new Nyay Samhitas,” he said.

The three criminal laws, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, replaced the colonial-era IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act on July 1, 2024. Mr Shah termed them a “milestone” in the evolution of India’s justice system and said their full rollout would make criminal justice delivery faster, technology-driven and victim-centric.

“Within the next two years, after full implementation of these laws, any FIR filed in the country will receive a final decision up to the Supreme Court within three years,” he said, adding that conviction rates had already seen an “unprecedented rise” in states such as Assam, Gujarat and Haryana that had moved swiftly on implementation.

Highlighting key provisions, he said the new framework introduces a dedicated chapter on crimes against women and children, grants statutory backing to e-FIR and Zero FIR, and mandates forensic visits for offences punishable with more than seven years’ imprisonment. Community service has been introduced as a legal punishment for minor offences, while terrorism has been clearly defined with provisions for trial in absentia for fugitives abroad, he said.

He added that the Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS) had digitally linked police, courts, prosecution, forensic services and prisons, enabling end-to-end online case processing. The expanded legal definition of “documents” now recognises electronic and digital records, while the authorities have been empowered to attach properties of proclaimed offenders residing outside India.

Praising the Delhi police for maintaining security in the national capital to “the highest global standards”, Mr Shah said urban policing must increasingly rely on technology-led surveillance and rapid response systems.

He said whether it is drug syndicates, counterfeit currencies, complex cybercrimes or organised crimes, the Delhi police has worked successfully in every domain.

He laid the foundation stone for an integrated headquarters of the force’s special cell, being built at a cost of Rs 368 crores, and inaugurated the first phase of the Safe City project.