Established under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, 2008, the NIA stands as a central agency with its headquarters located in New Delhi. The agency’s main task is to investigate and prosecute offences related to terrorism and certain other acts that came into force post the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Scope and Objectives of NIA
The NIA’s mandate extends to matters affecting the sovereignty, security, and integrity of India. It also covers issues related to state security, friendly relationships with foreign states, and actions against atomic and nuclear facilities. Moreover, the NIA plays an instrumental role in investigating cases concerning high-quality counterfeit Indian currency smuggling.
The NIA is responsible for executing international treaties, agreements, conventions, and resolutions of the United Nations, its agencies, and other international organisations. The objective goes beyond this: it is also to combat terror within India, acting as the Central Counter-Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency. Alongside these duties, the NIA assists all state and other investigative agencies in inquiries related to terrorist cases.
Data Management and Legislative Studies
The NIA undertakes building a comprehensive database containing all information related to terrorism. This database is shared with state authorities and other agencies. Additionally, the agency keenly studies and analyses laws regarding terrorism in other countries. It regularly assesses the sufficiency of existing laws in India and proposes necessary changes.
It ensures to conduct in-depth professional investigations of scheduled offences using the latest scientific methods of investigation. The schedule to the Act specifies a list of offences to be investigated and prosecuted by the NIA, including offences under Acts such as the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967.
Mandate of NIA and Assignment of Cases
The Central Government assigns cases to the NIA in accordance with section VI of the NIA Act, 2008. The Agency conducts investigations independently and, after completion, the case files are placed before the NIA Special Court. It is noteworthy that the NIA is authorised to handle terror-related crimes across states without special permissions from those states.
Recent Amendments and Their Features
New amendments were brought to the NIA Act via the NIA (Amendment) ACT, 2019. These amendments extended the provisions of the NIA Act to individuals committing scheduled offences outside India against Indian citizens or affecting India’s interest.
The amendments empowered central government officials in relation to scheduled offences committed outside India. They also stated that central and state governments could designate Sessions Courts as Special Courts for trials of offences under the NIA Act. Furthermore, new offences were added to the Schedule of the NIA Act, empowering the NIA to investigate crimes related to human trafficking, counterfeit currency, sale of prohibited arms, cyber-terrorism, and explosive substances.
Critical View on Recent Amendments
The recent amendments have been under scrutiny for certain issues. Although criminal law and national security fall within the concurrent jurisdiction and union list respectively, public order maintenance and police forces are matters of the state list. Thus, the authority of the Central government, through the NIA, to take over the investigation of certain crimes has been questioned.
Another point of contention is the inclusion of Section 66F of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which deals with cyber terrorism, in the Schedule listing offences, given that India does not have a data protection act and no formal definition of cyber terrorism exists. Moreover, the term “affecting the interest of India,” which can empower the NIA to investigate crimes committed against Indian citizens or affecting India’s interest, remains undefined. This lack of clarity raises concerns about potential misuse of the law to curb freedom of speech and expression.