New Delhi – In a bid to improve the state of the capital’s forensic system, Delhi will be building a new regional forensic science laboratory in Sheikh Sarai for an estimated amount of ₹151.81 Crore. The Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC), which was headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, has finally given the go-ahead for this move.
The construction work will be carried out by the Delhi Public Works Department, and construction should be completed within a period of two years. The deadline for this project has been set for approximately 2028. This new laboratory will encompass an area of about 6,300 square meters and have a total built-up area of about 18,300 square meters.
According to officials, the Sheikh Sarai facility is an integrated forensic laboratory established to house the distinct types of equipment and workflows needed for scientific evaluations to determine evidence in crimes; this includes biological samples, ballistics, chemical, and digital technologies. The facility will be beneficial to the Southern, Central, and the Southeastern districts of Delhi as currently, in order to gain access to a lab, an investigator has to travel to the Forensic Science Laboratory located in Rohini, thereby causing a delay in the investigations.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta stated that this decision goes in line with the freshly revised criminal justice system of the country. According to her, with the introduction of the new laws (the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam), the importance of conducting forensic investigations has gone up significantly due to the fact that with these laws, it will be required to obtain forensic evidence in more cases than it was ever needed before. Thus, the introduction of this new RFSL will help to meet this demand and have adequate capabilities to ensure that.
The Home Minister of Delhi, Ashish Sood, affirmed the aforementioned idea and stated that the new facility would speed up the processing of the evidence and the making of forensic reports. Faster forensic reports are identified as one of the reasons for delaying the process of criminal trials in India, which has oftentimes caused delays in the filing of charge sheets, grant of bail, and ruling of cases. In addition, Sood informed that Sheikh Sarai would provide additional expertise to the existing FSL in Rohini, distributing the forensic workload more efficiently between two major centres.
Moreover, this decision is part of the larger national trend. Since the introduction of the new Criminal codes in India in 2024, forensic laboratories have reported a significant increase in workloads, which has prompted the Central and State Governments to announce a plan to invest in the development of forensic infrastructure (the opening of new Central Forensic Laboratories in the region and the launch of mobile forensic units). Delhi is making its contribution to this modernization process by launching the Sheikh Sarai project.
Credits and References:
- https://aninews.in/news/national/general-news/delhi-to-get-new-regional-forensic-science-laboratory-in-sheikh-sarai-at-rs-15181-crore20260912182821/
- https://www.thehansindia.com/news/cities/new-delhi/modern-rs-151-crore-forensic-lab-to-be-built-in-sheikh-sarai-delhi-cm-rekha-gupta-1121197
- https://thenewsmill.com/2026/09/delhi-approves-rs-151-81-crore-for-new-regional-forensic-science-laboratory-in-sheikh-sarai/
- https://www.latestly.com/agency-news/india-news-delhi-to-get-new-regional-forensic-science-laboratory-in-sheikh-sarai-at-rs-151-81-crore-7601789.html
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