Mumbai: A special court at the City Civil and Sessions Court, Kalaghoda, has been designated to handle cases registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). This court will have jurisdiction over the entire state, ensuring centralised proceedings for matters investigated by the NIA.
The state government has officially notified Sessions Court No 25 as the designated NIA court. This court will be responsible for conducting trials, hearing applications and overseeing all legal proceedings in cases filed by the central agency. Sources indicate that by next month, the court will be exclusively dedicated to handling NIA-related matters, streamlining investigations and judicial processes.
At present, the court hears cases not only from the NIA but also from various other agencies, including the local police, Crime Branch, and Anti-Terrorism Squad. Additionally, it serves as a special court for cases under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
Apart from NIA-related cases – such as the high-profile Elgar Parishad conspiracy case and several instances of fake currency circulation – the court has been overseeing trials for significant matters, including the Aurangabad arms haul case, Pune’s Jungli Maharaj serial blasts case, and various extortion and organised crime cases filed by Mumbai police against criminal gangs operating within the city.
Sources suggest that efforts are currently underway to consolidate all pending NIA cases from different courts into this newly designated special court, while non-NIA cases will be reassigned to other respective courts.
Currently, approximately 25 cases registered by the NIA are pending before the sessions court, distributed among two other courts. These cases include those involving individuals linked to various ISIS modules, matters related to alleged Naxal connections, cases filed against the Popular Front of India (PFI), the Antilia bomb scare case and an investigation into human trafficking of Indian youth to Laos for cybercrime. Moving forward, all such cases will be heard exclusively by the special NIA court.
