The National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of India that provides the legal framework for the establishment of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a central counter-terrorism law enforcement agency. The Act was enacted on December 31, 2008, in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which highlighted the need for a dedicated national agency to investigate terrorism-related offenses with inter-state and international linkages. The problem it solved was the lack of a central agency with nationwide jurisdiction that could investigate terror cases without requiring the consent of state governments, unlike the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The Act's core mechanism revolves around Scheduled Offences, which are a list of serious crimes, including those under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), that the NIA is empowered to investigate and prosecute. Section 6 of the Act deals with the investigation of these Scheduled Offences, allowing the Central Government to direct the NIA to take up a case. The Act also mandates the constitution of Special Courts for the speedy trial of these offenses.
A significant change occurred with the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Act, 2019, which expanded the NIA's scope and jurisdiction. The 2019 Amendment empowered the NIA to investigate offenses committed outside India against Indian citizens or affecting the interests of India, subject to international treaties. It also broadened the list of Scheduled Offences to include crimes like human trafficking, offenses related to counterfeit currency, manufacture or sale of prohibited arms, and cyber-terrorism. The fundamental structure of the NIA as a central counter-terrorism agency with concurrent jurisdiction across India, overriding the need for state consent in Scheduled Offences, has remained the same.