The Allahabad High Court recently directed the Uttar Pradesh government and the Centre to consider issuing notifications for additional special courts under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act. The direction is intended to expedite the trials of scheduled offences under the NIA Act.
This direction came during the hearing of a criminal appeal, where the jurisdiction of the designated court was questioned.
The division bench of Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi and Justice Ajai Kumar Srivastava-I observed that a 2021 notification designated only a single court for Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state, which is currently overwhelmed with numerous cases notified by both the central and state governments.
It emphasised that although both the central and state governments have designated special courts and a court of judicial magistrate is operational for trying scheduled offences within its jurisdiction, the high case backlog necessitates a reconsideration of the notification of additional special courts by the state government. “…so as to streamline the process of justice strictly in accordance with the Act and the underlined objects therein,” said the bench. “The constitution of Special Courts undoubtedly is a special measure under the Act and its objectives have to be achieved by following the mandate of law strictly both in terms of creating the adequate number of Courts as well as by imparting special training to such Judicial Officers/Presiding Officers posted in the said Courts so that the administration of justice serves the real purpose of law governing national security and sovereignty.”
Additionally, the court emphasised that under section 15 of the Act, the state government is obligated to appoint public prosecutors for trials of scheduled offences in the special courts.
The HC noted that the state government has yet to implement a mechanism for appointing public prosecutors to handle cases in the special courts, which the state government must address promptly. This is in addition to ensuring swift and lawful investigations.
This “irresistible conclusion” led the court to direct the state and central governments to issue notifications for additional special courts and appoint public prosecutors to manage cases in these courts. The HC also issued directives to ensure investigations are completed promptly and in accordance with the law.
“We also deem it appropriate that the Director, Judicial Training & Research Institute (JTRI) shall provide training to the Judicial Officers working in all the Special Courts to achieve the distinctive objects of the relevant Acts, in its right perspective including NIA,” the HC ordered.
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