RAIPUR: Sample this: The counterfeit notes kept in the ‘malkhana’ years ago are to be produced before the court as evidence, but they have crumbled, and are a far sight from how they looked when seized. Challenges like this will be a thing of the past at the District and Sessions Court at Balrampur, Chhattisgarh.
The court is setting up the digital service of e-malkhana to overcome the challenges faced while safely storing the confiscated properties connected to suspected crimes, in order to be retrieved later without delay or tampering from the malkhana — a warehouse of seized goods kept as evidence at courts or police stations.
The e-malkhana will enable identification of the actual property among similar-looking objects seized in different criminal cases, as each property has been allocated a QR code that classifies it with details like case status, case year, property reports and its stage.
“Evidence management is an integral part of the criminal justice system. Such properties/items can be accessed with reassurance by the smartphone QR code scanner to quickly locate it. It prevents tampering of evidence, saves time and updates the property-related case proceedings,” Judge Sirajuddin Qureshi said.
“Such a system is remarkable and should be replicated in other courts too,” said Justice Sachin Singh Rajput of Chhattisgarh High Court who inaugurated the facility.
The system will also prevent delays in tracking the evidence properties. “The in-charge of e-malkhana gets a message from the court, after which the property is picked from the catalogue and produced swiftly,” said First Additional Session Judge Prafull Sonwani.The properties will also be equipped with ‘radio frequency IDs’ so that any unauthorised effort to take them will result in an alert beep.
Better classification at e-malkhana
The e-malkhana at the District & Sessions Court, Balrampur, will enable identification of the actual property among similar-looking objects seized in different cases, as each property has been given a QR code that classifies it with details like case status, case year, property reports and its stage.