Tamil Nadu Implements New Criminal Procedure Rules 2025

Now, FIR can be registered in any police station in Tamil Nadu even for crimes outside jurisdiction. Such FIRs must be transferred electronically and physically to the competent police station within 24 hours

The Tamil Nadu Criminal Procedure Rules, 2025, have been brought into effect to align the state’s legal framework with the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), marking a significant overhaul in criminal justice administration. A major change empowers any police station to register FIRs for cognisable offences committed outside its traditional jurisdiction, with mandatory electronic and physical transfers to the appropriate station within 24 hours.

These rules aim to standardize and digitize criminal procedures by institutionalizing uniform practices across police stations and courts, to ensure transparency, efficiency, accountability, and judicial coordination.

Central to this transformation is the integration of digital platforms like eSakshya—a mobile and web application used to record audio-visual evidence, upload geo-tagged photographs, and generate secure, time-stamped ‘SID’ (Secure, Immutable, Digital) evidence packets. These features significantly strengthen the chain of custody and ensure that digital evidence is tamper-proof and court-ready.

The rules also support summons and arrest notifications through authenticated email, OTP-verified mobile numbers, or standard messaging apps, with all communications digitally logged to establish proof of service. A consistent digital record of these actions promotes procedural fairness, while the Arrest Intimation Register (Form I) ensures that the person’s family is promptly notified, which is crucial for legal accountability.

Multiple electronic and physical registers have been mandated for completeness and tracking of cases, including:

• Arrest Intimation Register (Form I) for notifying relatives of the arrested person.

• Summons Register (Form II), which logs issuance, service status, and pending summons, with monthly summaries.

• e-Information Register (Form V) to document electronic complaints, with a requirement for in-person confirmation within three days.

• Non-Cognizable Offence Report and Register (Forms VI–VIII) for formal recording and forwarding of minor offence complaints to magistrates.

• Police Report and Final Investigation Report (Forms XI & XII) to record progress and communicate findings to informants and courts via post or email.

Implementation has required upgrades in CCTNS-II, eSakshya, and e-summons platforms, deployment of tablets, body cameras, and servers, and ongoing capacity building for SHOs, investigating officers, court staff, and prosecutors. The rules also open up new avenues for filing criminal incident reports via email, website, or SMS—with complainants now entitled to acknowledgment receipts, including for non‑cognizable complaints.

Tamil Nadu’s new rules are charting a course toward a digitally empowered, transparent, and accessible criminal justice system, reinforcing due process, evidentiary integrity, and procedural uniformity across the state.

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