NIA Amendment Bill

In November 2008, Mumbai was attacked by heinous terrorists following which 165 civilians and security personnel were killed. Among these 26 were foreigners. Even more, about 304 people faced major injuries. In the light of this terrorist attack, the NIA Act was brought in 2008 by the National Investigation Agency. Both the houses of the parliament have passed this law. However, an amendment was made to the NIA bill by bringing the NIA Act 2019. 

Before we know the details about the act, let us walk you through what is NIA? What are their roles and duties?

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What is NIA? 

The Indian government established a central agency named National Investigation Agency (NIA) which functions to combat terrorism across the nation. This agency serves the purpose of Central Counter-terrorism Law Enforcement. 

The Functions of The National Investigation Agency are as follows:

• Deals to empower with crimes causing terror without having to seek special permission from the higher authorities or states. 

• Most large terrorist incidents involve complex inter-state and linkages across international borders. For instance, drug smuggling, fake currency, etc. 

• This led to the formation of the NIA and NIA Bill. 

• If you are wondering NIA comes under which ministry, then it is under the centre. It was set up to look into the matters of the 2008 terror attacks of Mumbai along with other ones. 

• The list of offences included atomic and nuclear offences, waging wars against the nation, among all others. 

Headquarters of NIA and The Establishment of National Investigation Agency

The National Investigation Agency has its headquarters in Delhi along with 8 other regional offices located across other cities. There are about 649 employees working with NIA. If you want to know NIA comes under which ministry, then they work under the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

NIA Act 2019

As an amendment to the NIA Bill 2008, the Rajya Sabha passed the NIA Act 2019 (Amendment) on 17th July. It did not just bring changes to the act but also the Unlawful Activities Act, 1967. An amendment was made to schedule 4 for the prevention of unlawful activities. This allows NIA to declare an individual having any connections or terror links as a terrorist. Earlier, only the organisations could be held responsible or claimed of terrorism. But, after the changes in the bill, an individual can also be suspected of terrorism in the nation. 

There have been 3 major changes made in the NIA Act in 2019. These are as follows:

1. Widened The Scope of Law: 

Under the amendment, NIA holds the permission to investigate the offences as specified in the schedules made under the NIA act. 

The ambit for NIA has increased the investigation matters to the following:

• Human trafficking

• Cyber-terrorism

• Counterfeit currency

• Manufacturing the prohibited arms

• Offences carried out under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908

2. Offences Outside India:

The original NIA act proposed in 2008 allowed carrying out investigation only within the national borders. However, considering the international offences taking place, the amended act empowers the agency to carry out its investigation outside India. This is however subjected to some international treaties or domestic laws. The special court for NIA in New Delhi will further allow carrying out jurisdiction over these cases. 

3. Special Courts:

Under the 2008 NIA Act, special courts were set up and allocated to carry out the trials of offences under this act. However, with the amendment of the NIA Act 2019, the central government was allowed with designated courts as special courts to carry out the trials under this act. 

However, before confirming the designation of a chief court, the central government requires to consult the chief justice from the high court. 

If in any area, more than one special court is allocated, then all the cases among the courts are distributed by the senior most judge. To carry out the trials of scheduled offences, state courts can also allocate special courts. 

According to schedule VII provided by the constitution, it is essential to maintain public order and police forces under the state list. However, a part of the concurrent list is formed by criminal law. Under this, national security is a  part of the union list domains. With the recent amendments made under the NIA Act, the central government gets the authority to take over the criminal investigation. This involves all forms of allegations associated with human trafficking, explosive acts and even offences that are a part of the arms act. The NIA amendment provides the authorities with the right to carry out investigations against individuals. However, this act comes under “Affecting the interest of India’s citizens”. As such, we can conclude that the NIA amendments so established are not completely favourable with Indian federalism or the established law principles of the nation.