Set up new NIA courts by Sept, SC tells govts

NEW DELHI: With long delay in trials in hundreds of NIA investigated cases relating to terrorism and heinous crimes, Supreme Court on Friday said designating existing courts as special NIA courts was unacceptable and gave an ultimatum to the Union and Maharashtra govts to set up new, exclusive special courts for trial in these cases by Sept.

“You cannot designate existing courts, which are dealing with civil and criminal cases, to put an additional burden of NIA cases on them. If you want to expedite trial in NIA-investigated cases having national ramification, you must establish new courts, appoint senior judicial officers , provide them with staff and adequate infrastructure,” SC said.

Set up NIA courts or will give accused bail, SC warns govt

Senior advocate Trideep Pais argued that his client Kailash Ramchandani was arrested by NIA in a UAPA case and was lodged in jail for the last six years without trial as the judicial officer, manning the special court, had no time to proceed with the case.

The bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi told additional solicitor general Rajkumar B Thakre that this was the last opportunity for Union and Maharashtra govts to set up new special courts to exclusively deal with NIA cases. The bench said if such steps were not taken, then courts would be constrained to consider grant of bail to the accused in these cases on the ground of delay in trial.

Rejecting NIA’s affidavit which claimed compliance with Supreme Court’s order for establishment of special courts by designating existing courts, the bench said no effective or visible step was taken by the authorities.

In its last order, the Justice Kant-led bench had said, “There are hundreds of trials in different parts of the country under special statutes like UAPA, Indian Explosives Act, MCOCA and other similar statutes in different states. However, trials are not commencing because presiding officers are also occupied with several other criminal and civil cases. In the absence of a judicial audit of the matters, which are actually or likely to be generated with the enactment of a new law, trials pertaining to heinous offences have brought an enormous burden on the existing system.”

It had further said, “The most effective recourse can be the establishment of dedicated courts to whom trials under special statutes can be entrusted, without giving them any other civil or criminal cases. Ideally, the trial should take place on a day-to-day basis.”