The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the principal counter-terrorism law enforcement agency in India, established as an institution under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008. The NIA was created in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, with the Act being enacted on December 31, 2008. Its purpose was to address the failure of existing agencies to track terror activities and to create a central body to investigate offences with complex inter-State and international linkages.
The NIA's mechanism revolves around investigating and prosecuting "Scheduled Offences" listed in the Schedule to the NIA Act, 2008. The Central Government can direct the NIA to take over an investigation, and under Section 6(5) of the Act, it can suo motu direct the agency to investigate a Scheduled Offence. The Act mandates the constitution of Special Courts under Section 11 for the speedy trial of these cases. A key related statute is the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), which is a primary Scheduled Offence under the NIA Act. Furthermore, Section 8 grants the NIA the power to investigate non-scheduled offences if they are connected to a Scheduled Offence.
The NIA (Amendment) Act, 2019, brought significant changes, expanding the list of Scheduled Offences to include human trafficking, counterfeit currency, manufacture or sale of prohibited arms, and cyber-terrorism. The amendment also expanded the NIA's jurisdiction to investigate Scheduled Offences committed outside India, provided they involve Indian citizens or Indian interests. The core structure and the concurrent jurisdiction framework of the NIA, however, remained the same.