Centre proposes spl NIA courts in 17 states, SC seeks their reply

NEW DELHI: On the prodding of Supreme Court, Centre has agreed to set up at least one special court in each of the 17 states where trials of more than 10 terror cases probed by NIA are pending, with a promise to grant Rs 1 crore each towards recurring and non-recurring costs, reports Dhananjay Mahaptra.

Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati informed a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria that the ministry of home affairs had written to the states that it was not advisable to construct separate court complexes for the purpose. “It is, however, suggested that state govt may earmark one existing court for setting up a special court, exclusively for trial of NIA cases,” the ministry said.

The CJI said setting up of special courts to exclusively deal with NIA-investigated cases was important as many “unfortunate incidents” were taking place. “Even though the crimes are serious, the accused cannot be kept in custody without trial, which gets delayed because existing courts with a backlog of cases are assigned NIA trials,” he said.

Bhati said recurring and non-recurring expenditures would not include the cost of the land and construction .

The bench issued notices to Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana.

Delhi has the highest number of NIA cases pending at 59.

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