The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is a specialised counter-terrorism law enforcement agency in India. The agency is empowered to deal with the investigation of terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states under written proclamation from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The primary mandate of the National Investigation Agency is to investigate and prosecute offences that have national and cross-border implications, specifically focusing on terrorism, insurgency, and other related matters. It is empowered to investigate cases that involve threats to the sovereignty, security, and integrity of India. It has the authority to conduct searches, make seizures and arrests, as well as to collect evidence and maintain a database of terrorist organisations and their members.
The agency came into existence with the enactment of the National Investigation Agency Act 2008 by the Parliament of India on 31 December 2008, which was passed after the deadly 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai. Such an attack revealed the failure of intelligence and ability to track such activities by existing agencies in India, hence the Government of India realised the need for a specific body to deal with terror related activities in India, thereby establishing the NIA. Headquartered in New Delhi, the NIA has branches in Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, Jammu, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Chennai and Imphal. It maintains the NIA Most Wanted list. Its functioning and effectiveness have also been subject to scrutiny, with debates regarding its jurisdiction, accountability, and coordination with other agencies.
The founding Director-General of NIA was Radha Vinod Raju, and he served until 31 January 2010. Currently Sadanand Date serves as its Director-General since 1 April 2024.
Organisation
NIA is headed by a Director General, who is an IPS officer and has the rank of Director General of Police. NIA is headquartered in New Delhi. The Director General of the NIA is assisted by Special/Additional Directors General (ADGs) and Inspectors General (IGs). There are branch offices across the country to ensure nationwide coverage and coordination in counter-terrorism and other national security-related investigations. Senior officers are appointed through deputation from the Indian Police Service (IPS) or the Indian Revenue Service (IRS). Conversely, subordinate personnel are selected directly via the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) or through deputation from various State Police forces.
Legal basis
A bill for the formation of the National Investigation Agency was passed by Parliament in December 2008. As per the legislation, NIA has concurrent jurisdiction which empowers the Central Agency to probe terror attacks in any part of the country, covering offences including challenges to the country’s sovereignty and integrity, bomb blasts, hijacking of aircraft and ships and attacks on nuclear installations. The amendments to the NIA Act have brought offences relating to the smuggling in high-quality counterfeit Indian currency under the definition of a terrorist act aimed at damaging the monetary stability of the country and therefore open to investigation by the NIA.
The National Investigative Agency Bill and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill became law on 30 December 2008 as President Pratibha Patil gave her assent to the legislation which was passed in the last session of the parliament.
NIA (Amendment) Bill 2019
The NIA (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed by the parliament on 17 July 2019. The Bill aims to give more teeth to the investigating powers of the NIA. It empowers the NIA to probe terror attacks targeting Indians and Indian interests abroad. The amended legislation, which aims to primarily empower the anti-terror agency to investigate scheduled offences such as human trafficking; circulation of fake currency; manufacture and sale of prohibited arms; and cyber-terrorism, was passed with a majority of 278 votes in favour and six against in the Lok Sabha. It was also passed in the Rajya Sabha after those opposed to it staged a walkout. This amendment will now also allow NIA to investigate the Sri Lanka Easter Bombings and Kabul Gurudwara bombing.
Vision
The organisation aims to be a thoroughly professional investigative agency matching the best international standards. It aims to set the standards of excellence in counter terrorism and other national security related investigations at the national level by developing into a highly trained, partnership oriented workforce. It also aims at creating deterrence for existing and potential terrorist groups/individuals. It aims to develop as a storehouse of all terrorist related information.
Jurisdiction
The Agency has been empowered to conduct investigation and prosecution of offences under the Acts specified in the Schedule of the NIA Act. A State Government may request the Central Government to hand over the investigation of a case to the NIA, provided the case has been registered for the offences as contained in the schedule to the NIA Act. The Central Government can also order NIA to take over investigation of any scheduled offence anywhere in the India. Officers of the NIA who are drawn from the Indian Police Service and Indian Revenue Service have all powers, privileges and liabilities which police officers have in connection with investigation of any offence.
In 2016, Home Minister Rajnath Singh wanted to end the central agency’s dependence on approval from state police chiefs before confiscating or attaching assets of people accused of crime.
The National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Act, 2019 states that, officers of the NIA will have the power to investigate scheduled offences committed outside India, subject to international treaties and domestic laws of other countries. The central government may direct the NIA to investigate such cases, as if the offence has been committed in India. The Special Court in New Delhi will have jurisdiction over these cases.
Special NIA Courts
Various Special Courts have been established by the Central Government of India for trial of the cases registered at various police stations of NIA under Section 11 and 22 of the NIA Act 2008. Any question as to the jurisdiction of these courts is decided by the Central Government. These are presided over by a judge appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the High Court with jurisdiction in that region. The Supreme Court of India has also been empowered to transfer the cases from one special court to any other special court within or outside the state if in the interest of justice in light of the prevailing circumstances in any particular state. The NIA Special Courts are empowered with all powers of the court of sessions under Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for trial of any offence.
Trial by these courts are held on a day-to-day basis on all working days and have precedence over the trial of any other case against the accused in any other court (not being a Special Court) and have to be concluded in preference to the trial of such other case. An appeal from any judgement, sentence or order, not being an interlocutory order, of a Special Court lies to the High Court both on facts and on law. Such an appeal can be heard by a division bench of two Judges of the High Court. At present there are 38 Special NIA Courts. State Governments have also been empowered to appoint one or more such special courts in their states.
Recent success of NIA
Individual terrorists
In 2012, NIA with the assistance of Interpol and Saudi Intelligence agencies, successfully arrested terrorists namely: Abu Jundal alias Abu Hamza (Indian national), Fasih Mohammad and Yaseen Bhatkal (Indian Mujahideen).
In 2013, NIA was successful in arresting two senior members of Indian Mujahideen, namely Ahmed Siddibappa Zaraar alias Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, at the Indo—Nepal border in Bihar on 29 August 2013. These two were instrumental in the commission of a number of terrorist attacks across the country for the past several years, under the banner of Indian Mujahideen, a proscribed terrorist organisation.
Terrorist organisations
Jammu and Kashmir war on terror
NIA has been active in the war against terror in Jammu and Kashmir. On 18 January 2019, NIA filed a chargesheet against 12 people including Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group chief Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin. This chargesheet was filed after nearly eight months of investigations spanning six states in India during which over 300 witnesses were examined, 950 “incriminating documents” and 600 electronic devices were seized. NIA has also stated that the war against terror in Kashmir is not about terror funding alone, it’s about a conspiracy to wage war against India. During the investigation the NIA has arrested people allegedly involved in stone-pelting incidents for the first time including Kashmiri photojournalist Kamran Yusuf.
Naxals
It has identified two Naxalite commanders in Bastar who were part of the ambush that killed almost the entire Congress’ Chhattisgarh top brass.
Foreign militant groups behind Manipur violence
On 30 September 2023, in a joint operation with Manipur Police, NIA arrested a 51-year-old man, Seiminlun Gangte, from Churachandpur, Manipur for ‘transnational conspiracy by terror outfits in Myanmar and Bangladesh to wage war against the government of India by exploiting the ethnic unrest in Manipur’. NIA announced that the mentioned militant outfits have been providing funds to procure arms, ammunition and other types of terrorist hardware, which are being sourced both, from across the border, as well as from other terrorist outfits active in northeastern states of India.
Constitutionality
Under the constitution of India, law and order is a state subject. In 2020 Chhatishgarh state filed a case against the act in the supreme court that the said act violates the constitution. A US Embassy cable accessed by The Hindu says that union home minister P Chidambaram, in his discussion with FBI Director Robert Mueller, was coming ‘perilously close to crossing constitutional limits’ in empowering the NIA, and also that the National Investigation Agency’s powers could be challenged in the courts as violating constitutional provisions on Centre-State relations. These ambiguities that the states’ privilege is being encroached upon by the Centre using this act are resolved using the ‘doctrine of Pith and Substance’. The central government states that the NIA is a necessary body to fight threats to national security.
In popular culture
NIA has been depicted in the Amazon Prime Video’s series The Family Man featuring Manoj Bajpayee in the role of an NIA officer named Srikant Tiwari.