I

nvest
igat
ionOfUAPACases-DoesTheNI
AActOf
fendTheFeder
al
System?

AbdulKhaderKunj
uS,
Asst
.Publ
icPr
osecut
or,
Alappuzha(
for
merPubl
icPr
osecut
or
t
oNIA)

I
ntr
oduct
ion.
Nati
onalI nv estigati
on Agency ( NIA/Agency )was const ituted by t he NI A Act ,2008 f ort he
i
nv estigati
onandpr osecuti
onofof fencesaf f
ecti
ngt henat i
onalsecur ity,soverei
gntyandi ntegri
tyoft he
nation.TheAgencybecamewel l-
knownamongt hepubl i
cast hei nvest i
gati
onofof fencesundert he
Unlawf ulAct i
vi
ti
es( Preventi
on)Act ,1967( thelawoft errori
sm)i smai nlydonebyi t
.UAPAi soneoft he
Actsadher edtot heschedul et otheNI AAct .TheAgencyi sassi gnedwi ththepanI ndiajuri
sdicti
ont o
i
nv estigatetheoff encescov eredi ntheAct sscheduledt herein.Ther ear epredomi nantdivergentopini
ons
among t hej uri
stsand pol it
iciansast ot hepr oprietyt o passal egislati
on author i
zi
ng theCent r al
Gov ernmentt odeci det oentrustthei nvest
igati
onofof fencest oanyagencywi t
houtt heconsentoft he
StateGov ernment, sinceconst i
tuti
onallyiti
sconsi deredt hatthepubl icor derandpol i
cingar ethesubject
mat teroft heSt ateGov ernment ,andi nthecaseofcr iminall aw andcr iminalpr ocedurebot ht he
Gov ernment senjoypower ssimul taneously.
TheWayt
heI
nvest
igat
ioni
sRer
out
edt
otheNI
A.
Sect ion6oft heNI AActempower st heCent r alGovernmentt ousur pt hei nvestigat i
on.I tst ipulat es
thatwhenev eracaseofschedul edof f
encesi sr egist
eredatanypol icest at i
oni nI ndi a,t heof fi
cer -in-
chargeoft hepol icest at ionshal lforwar dt her epor ttotheSt ateGov ernment ,which,i nt urnshal lbe
forwar dedexpedi tiouslyt ot heCent r
alGov ernmentandwi thinf i
ft
eenday sfrom t hedat eofr ecei ptofi t
,
thelattershal ldetermi ne, ont hebasi sofi nformat ionmadeav ailablebyt hef or merorr eceiv edf rom ot her
sources, whet hertheof fencei saschedul edof fenceornotandal sowhet her, havingr egar dt ot hegr av ity
oftheof fenceandot herr elevantf actors,i tisaf itcaset obei nv esti
gat edbyt heAgency .I ftheCent ral
Gov ernmenti soft heopi niont hatitist obei nv est i
gatedbyt heAgency ,itshal ldirectt heAgencyt o
conductt hei nvest i
gation.Thi sapar t,i
nanycase,i ftheCent r
alGov ernmenti soft heopi niont hata
schedul edof fencehasbeencommi t
tedwhi chisr equiredtobei nv esti
gat edundert heNI AAct ,itmaysuo
mot udi recttheAgencyt oi nv estigat
ei t
.Oncet heCent r
alGov ernmenthast akent hedeci sionent rust ing
thei nv est i
gationt oNI A,t heSt ateGov ernmentandi tspoliceof f
iceri nvest i
gatingt heof fenceshal l
fort
hwi t ht ransmitt her elev antdocument sandr ecor dst otheAgencysanspr oceedi ngf urther .Tillt he
Agencyt akesupt hei nv est igati
on,i tshal lbet hedut yoft heof f i
cer-i
n-char geoft hepol i
cest ationt o
continuet hei nvestigation.Ofof fencestowhi cht heNI AActext endscommi t
tedout si
deI ndia, t
heCent ral
Gov ernmentmaydi rectt heAgencyt oregi sterthecaseandt akeupi nvest i
gat i
onasi fsuchof fencehas
beencommi tt
edinI ndia.
Theprovi
sionoflawbeingtheabove,i
tisapparentt
hattheStat
eGover
nment shavenosayift
he
Cent
ralGov
ernmentdeci dest
ogetthecasesinv
esti
gatedbytheNIA.Thel
egalsancti
tyofgi
vi
ngsucha
powerbyastat
ut ei
sbeingexami
nedhere.
Feder
alSy
stem andt
heSepar
ati
onofPower
s
Thef
eder
alsy
stem ofgov
ernancehasbeenev
olv
edt
obi
ndt
hecount
ryi
ntoonepol
i
ticaluni
on
sev
eralautonomous,disti
nct,separat
eanddi sparatepolit
icalentit
iesoradminist
rat
iveunit
s.
The di
str
ibut
ion ofl
egi
slat
ive power
s bet
ween the Cent
re and the Stat
es i
sthe mostimport
ant
1
char act
erist
ic,rat
herthecore,ofanyf eder
alsy st
em. Thi sessenti
alfeat
ureoffeder
alsystem i
s
discernibl
ef rom t
hethreeli
stssuchast heUnionLi st
,Stat eLi
standt heConcur
rentLi
stcomeunder
Sev enthScheduleoftheConstit
uti
on.I
tisneedlesstosayt hatencroachi
ngint
othedomini
onall
ottedt
o
onebyt heotherwoul
daf f
ectthesmoothfuncti
oningofthef eder
alsystem.

1
M PJai
n,Const
it
uti
onal
LawofI
ndi
a,edi
tedbyJast
iChel
ameswarandDamaSeshadr
iNai
du,
JJ
 Asr egardstheinv
est i
gati
onofof f
encecommi tt
edinaState,i
twashel
dbyt heSupremeCourt,that
keepinginv iewthev ar
iousent ri
escontai
nedinListIoftheSevent
hSchedul
eoft heConsti
tut
ion,there
cannotbeanydoubtwhat soeverthati
nthematterofinv
esti
gat
ionofthematt
ercommi t
tedinaState,the
j
urisdict
ionoft heCentr
alGov ernmenti uded2.
sexcl
Const
it
uti
onalVal
idi
tyoft
heNI
AAct
.
TheConst it
utionalv ali
dityoft heNI AActhasbeenchal l
engedbef oret heBombayHi ghCour tin
Pragy asinghThakurv s.StateofMahar ashtra, ATS, Mumbai , UoIandNI A3 contendingt hatthePar liament
l
ackscompet encyt oconst itut
eanagencyf ort hei nv estigationofof fencesast hepol i
cingst andsi nt he
StateLi stoft heSev enthSchedul et ot heConst it
ut ion.TheCour trejectedt hecont enti
onbynot i
ngt he
entri
esi nList-Iandi nLi st
-II
Iandbyr eadingt hem t oget herandhar moni ouslycamet ot heconcl usiont hat
thePar l
iamenti scompet entt oenactt heNI AAct .TheCour thasconsi deredt hatwhent hepar li
amenti s
compet entt oenactt hel aw fort hesubj ectsenumer atedi nt heschedul et ot heNI AAct ,i
ti sequal l
y
compet entt ocr eateanagencyf orthei nvest i
gat i
onoft heof f
encesspeci fiedini t.Anot heraspect
consider edbyt heCour twast heEnt r
y8ofLi stI( Uni onLi st )entit
ledas" Cent r
alBureauofI ntell
igence
andI nv esti
gat ion”.Itwasobser vedt hatifsuchCent ralBur eauofI ntell
igenceandI nvestigati
oncoul dbe
setupbyt hePar l
iament ,then,thepower scoul dnotber estrict edwheni tdecidest oenactal egislationso
ast oconst itut eanI nvestigati
ngAgencyatt henat ionall ev eltoi nvestigateandpr osecut eof fences
affectingt hesov ereignty,secur i
tyandi ntegrityofI ndia,secur i
tyofSt ate,fri
endlyr el
ationswi thf oreign
States, etc.Inaddi ti
ont othis,t
heCour theldt hatev eni fitisassumedt hattheSt atehaspowert omakea
l
awi nr elati
ont oPol ice,stil
lgoingbyt hewi dewor dingofEnt r
y-1andEnt ry-2ofLi st
-II
I,theConcur rent
List,i
ti scleart hatthePar l
iamenti scompet entt oenactt heNI AAct ,2008.
Al
legat
ionsofPol
it
icalAf
fabi
li
tyoft
heNI
A.
Toi tsshame,t heNI A,t houghitisi ni tsspri
ngtimestil
l,hadal readyinv i
tedallegat
ionsofpolit
ical
court
esyandpar t
ial
itytowar dsapar t
icularsect.Firstshockingr evel
ationwasmadebyi tsownSpeci al
4
Publi
cPr osecut orSmt .Rohi niSal i
an. Shehadappear edi nthe2008Mal egaonbl astcaseinvolvi
ng
Hinduext r
emi sts.On25/ 6/2015shesai dt hatt
heAgencyt oldhert ogosof tint hecaseaf t
erthenew
governmentt ookov eratt heCent re.I
nanot hercase, i
nwhichper sonshav ingst rongconnecti
onwi t
hRSS
weret heaccused( AjmirDar gahBombBl astCase) ,whenmostoft hekeyaccusedwer eacquitt
ed,the
‘
scrol
l.in’
reportedon14/ 8/20155t hat‘
Notj ustRohiniSal
ian:PublicProsecutori nAjmerblastcaseisalso
unhappywi thNI A’ast hePubl icprosecutorexpr esseddisappointmentwi ththel ackofinter
estshownby
theNIAdur ingt hetri
al.Inot hercasesl i
keSamj hautaExpressbombbl astcase6 andHy derabadMecca
Masji
dBl astCase7al sot heconductofNI Awassai dt obedoubt f
ul .
TheinstancesofNIA goingaff
abl
ewi thaccusedbel ongt oapar ticularsectindicatesthatt he
hi
storyoftheNI Ai
snotanunbl
emishedone.I tisnotoutofplacet onotethatsev er
alStateinvestigat
ing
agenciesandt heCBIwereprov
edtohavei nv est i
gatedter
rorr
elatedcasesi nintel
li
gentmanner .Though
i
twasbef oret hefor
mati
onofNI Atheinv est igat
ionofBombayat tack(AjmalKasab’ sCase)andt he
Parl
iamentattackcasesweredonebyStatei nv esti
gati
ngagenciesinbefi
tti
ngmanner .I
tislearntthatthe
Stat
eGov ernmentofKeral
aalsoisi
nitswayt of orm aStatel
evelAnti
-Terr
or i
stSquad.
I
ssuesRel
atedt
oOf
fencesofNat
ionalSecur
it
y
Allt
heof f
encescomi ngunderthescheduletot heNIA Actareof f
encespertaini
ngtonational
secur
it
y.I
tcanbear guedthat
,unl
essther
eisacent r
all
yconsti
tut
edagencyf ort
heinvesti
gati
onofsuch
off
encestherealgoalcannotbeaccompli
shed.Thisargumentisir
rel
evantforthereasons,ont
heone
handthattheinvesti
gati
onofoffencesandpr osecut
ionoft heaccusedi stopunisht hegui
lt
yand

2
Bhav eshJayant iLakhani vs.StateofMahar ashtra.(2009)9SCC551.
3
2014ALLMR( Cri
)457: 2014( 1)Bom CR( Cri)135: MANU/ MH/ 1680/ 2013
4
htt
ps: /
/www. thehindu.com/ news/nati
onal/other -
states/nia-told-me- t
o-go-soft-
in-mal
egaon-2008-blast-case-says-
special-
publi
c-prosecutor-rohini-
sali
an/arti
cle7354066. eceaccessedon10/ 01/2020.
5
htt
ps: /
/scrol
l.
in/arti
cle/747397/ not-
just-r
ohini-sali
an-public-prosecut or-i
n-ajmer-bl
ast-
case-
is-
also-unhappy -with-
nia
accessedon10/ 01/2020.
6
htt
ps: /
/thewire.i
n/security/samjhauta-express-bombi ng-wi t
h-a- pr osecutor-l
ike-
the-ni
a-who-
needs-def ence
accessedon11/ 01/2020
7
htt
ps: /
/thewire.i
n/security/mecca-masj i
d-blasts-case-verdict-ex plaineraccessedon10/ 01/
2020
whoev eri stheagencyinvesti
gat
ingthecase, i
fthataimi sassuredtherewi l
lbenodi ffer
ence,andont he
other,iftheConst i
tut
iondoesnotenv i
sagesuchacent r
alpoli
ceagency ,itcannotbeest abli
shed.Ifiti
sa
mat terofex pert
iseitcanbeachievedifspecialbodiesareconst i
tut
edf orinvesti
gati
onofsuchcases.I t
cannotbeassumedt hatthepol
iceof f
icer
soft heSt at
ear enotadepti ninvestigati
on.Andi fatal li
tis
accept edt hatt
hatargumentisrelevant,pr
esupposingaper missionoftheSt ateGov ernmentforsuchan
i
nv esti
gat i
ont obedonebyt hecent r
alagencycannotbeconsi deredunwar rantedsincet hepr imary
presumpt i
onmustbet hattheStateGov er
nment sdonothav eanyi nterestagainstthel ar
gerinterestof
thenat ion.
Scopet
oQuest
iont
heConst
it
uti
onalVal
idi
tyoft
heNI
AActNotExhaust
ed.
Ev ent hought heBombayHi ghCour thel dt hatt heNI AActi sconst i
tuti
onal l
yv alid, i
tisputf or war d
thatther ear esomei mportantmat tersleftoutbyt heCour tfrom addr essingt herewith.TheCour tdi dnot
sayi ncl earter mst hatt hePar li
amentonl yhast hepowert oconst it
uteanagencyf ort hei nv estigat ionof
theof fencescov eredi ntheschedul et otheNI AAct .TheCour twasofcer tainopiniont hatbot ht heSt ate
Legislatur eandt hePar l
iamenthast hepowert ol egi sl
atei tbei ngapi eceofl egisl ati
onconcer ning
cri
mi nalpr ocedur e.I tiscor rectt hatt hecr i
mi nalpr ocedur eisoneoft heitemsi ntheConcur rentLi stso
thatbot ht heseLegi sl
aturescanenactl aw f ort hecr iminalpr ocedure.Aspert heCodeofCr i
mi nal
Procedur e,1973,t hepowert oi nvestigatei ntot heof f
encei sv estedwi ththest at i
onhouseof ficert o
whom t hei nformat ionr egardi ngt hecommi ssionofacogni zableof f
encei srepor t
ed.And, inei t
hercase,
whet heri tisacogni zableornon- cognizablecase, i
ft hei nf
ormat i
oni sgivent osuchof ficer,itishi sdut y
toent eri tintoar egi st
erpr escr ibedbyt heSt at eGov ernment( s.154and155oft heCode) .Thepol ice
stati
oni sdef i
nedt omeanasanypostorpl acedecl aredgener allyorspeci al
lybyt heSt ateGov er nment ,
tobeapol i
cest ation,includi nganyl ocalar easpeci fi
edbyt heSt ateGov ernmenti nt hi sbehal f( s.2[ s])
.
TheNI AActdoesn’ tcont empl ateanysuchpol icest at i
on,wher easi t
ss.3( 3)onlyconsi der st hatt he
offi
cer soft heNI Awoul dbet heof fi
cer-i
n-char geofpol i
cest at i
oni nwhi chhei spr esent .Thepol ice
stati
on,aspert heCodest illr emai nst obet hesame.Thepowergi vent ot heSt ateGov ernmentt o
i
nv esti
gat eintot heof fencesbypr ovisi
onsi nt heCrPCi st hepr oductoft heConst it
ut i
onalmandat e
(containedi nt heLi stI Ioft heSev enthschedul e) .I ft heCent r
alGov er
nmentf ormsanAgencyf ort he
i
nv esti
gat i
onofcases, itmustconf ormt ot hatcommandespeci allywhenEnt ryNo.2i nLi stIIispol ice.
Thusi tiscleart hatt
hepowert oinvest
igat
et heof f
encest andsint herealm oftheSt ate
Government,though the powert o enactt
he law relat
ing t
o criminalprocedure comes undert he
Concurr
entList
.Ifatal
l t
heParli
amentenactstheprocedurall
aw,itcanonlyvestthepowertoinvest
igate
cr
imeswi t
htheSt at
eGov ernment.
I
nt hi
sj uncture,itwoul dbepr ofit
abl
et ohav eal ooki nt
ot hemi ndsoft hef r
amer soft he
Constit
uti
onasr egardst hei nvesti
gat i
vepower soft heStatebypr y
ingt ot heConsti
tuentAssembl y
debates.TheBombayHi ghCour t,nPr
i agy asi
ngh’scase(supra)hasgi venmuchemphasi sont heEntry8
ofUni onListent i
tl
ed " CentralBureauofI ntel
li
genceand I nvest
igation"
.TheConst i
tuentAssembl y
Debateswouldshowt hatbymaki ngsuchanEnt r
yt hefr
amer softheConst i
tuti
ondidnotintenttogi v
e
powerst otheCent ralGov er
nmentf ori nvest
igati
ngcr i
mes.On29August ,1949therewasaheat ed
di
scussionont hispart i
cularEntryint heAssembl y
.Theor i
ginalEntrywas" CentralI
ntel
l
igenceBur eau".
Wheni twasproposedt omakei tasitst andsnow, therewereobjecti
ons.Dr .B.R.Ambedkarsai dont hi
s
proposal:
TheideaisthisthatattheUnionofficether
eshouldbeasor tofBureauwhichwillcoll
ectalli
nformati
onwith
regar
dt oanykindofcr i
methatisbei ngcommittedbypeoplethr
oughouttheterri
toryofIndiaandalsomake
aninvesti
gat
ionast owhethertheinformati
onthathasbeensuppli
edt ot
hem iscor r
ectornotandt herebybe
abletoinfor
mt hePr ovi
nci
alGov ernmentastowhati sgoingoni nthediff
erentpartsof'Indi
asot hatthey
mightthemselvesbei naposi
t i
ontoexer ci
set
heirPoli
cepowersinamuchbet t
ermannert hant heymightbe
8
ablet
odoot herwiseandintheabsenceofsuchi nfor
mat i
on.
Agai
nthereweredi
scussions.Oneoft hemembers,i
nterali
a,poi
nt edoutt
hatthemember shave
al
readyconcededt ot
heideathatt heinvest
igat
ionofcr
imei sapr ovi
ncialsubj
ectandt her
efore,i
fthe
Assembl ynow al
l
ow theCentralGov er
nmental sot
oinvesti
gate,theresultwouldbet hatforasingle
cr
imet heremustbet woparalleli
nvesti
gati
ons,onebyt heUnionGov ernmentandot herbyt heState
8
ht
tps:
//www.const
it
uti
onof
indi
a.net
/const
it
uti
on_
assembl
y_debat
es/
vol
ume/
9/1949-
08-
29accessedon
23/
11/2019.
Gover
nment.Themember sdemandedto deletethewor
d‘andi
nvest
igat
ion’f
rom t
heEnt
ry.Then,
summingupthedi
scussi
on,
Dr.B.R.Ambedkarsai
d:
Thepoi ntofthemat teris,t
hewor d" i
nv est
igat
ion"her edoesnotper mitandwi llnotpermitthemaki ngofan
i
nv esti
gati
onintoacr i
mebecauset hat'mat t
erundert heCri
mi nalProcedureCodei sleftexclusi
velyt
oa
policeoffi
cer
.Policeisexclusivel
yaSt atesubject
;i thasnopl aceintheUni onList.Thewor d"investi
gat
ion"
therefor
ei sintended to covergener alenqui ryf ort he pur
pose off inding outwhati s going on.Thi s
i
nv esti
gati
onisnoti nvesti
gati
onpr eparatorytothef il
ingofachar geagai nstanoffenderwhichonl yapolice
9
offi
cerunderthe,CriminalProcedureCodecando.
From theabov e,twoaspect sar eclear.Themandat eoft heConstitut
ionisnott ogivepowerof
i
nv estigati
onofof fencet ot heCent r
eandt heEnt ryNo8oft heUni onListenti
tl
ed" Centr
alBureauof
Intell
i
genceand I nvest i
gati
on"wasi ncorporated nott o grantt hatpower .Thef ramersmi ghthav e
consider edthat,i
naf eder alsy
stem, gi
vingpowerofi nvest
igationintooff
encest otheCent r
emayaf fect
adv erselytherelat
ionbet weent heCent ralandt heSt at
eGov ernment s.I
nt hi
sregard,itisworthnoting
thatthei nvest
igati
onsconduct edbyt heCBIwi thi
nt heStat
et erri
tori
esareonlywiththeconsentofthose
Gov ernment saspr ovidedi nsection6oft heDel hiPoli
ceEst abli
shmentAct ,barr
ingexceptionsbyt he
ordersoft heConst i
tutionalCourts.
TheHigh Cour tofGauhati,in Navendra Kumarv s.Union ofIndia10,whil
econsideri
ng the
Consti
tuti
onalval
idit
yoft heCBI ,hastakent heConst i
tuentAssemblydebat esint
oaccountt otest
whethertheframersoft heConst i
tut
ionwer esupporti
veoft heideaoff ormat i
onofani nvesti
gat
ing
agencyatnati
onallevelandhel
dthatinvesti
gati
onintoanof f
enceisintherealm oftheStat
e,thoughthe
deci
sionholdi
ngthattheCBIlacksConstit
uti
onalbackingwasbasedonot hergr oundstoo.
Hence,
thescopet
ochal
l
enget
heConst
it
uti
onal
val
i
dit
yoft
heNI
AActi
snotexhaust
ed.
Ar
eNI
AOf
fi
cer
sNotPol
iceOf
fi
cer
s?
Onlypol
iceoffi
cersareempower edtoinv esti
gatet
heof fences,
generall
y.EntryNo.2int heSt
ate
Listi
sPol i
ce.Poli
ceint hi
scont extdoesnotmeanmer el
ythemat t
ersrel
atedt osecuri
ty.Entir
epoli
ce
functi
onssuchast heest abl
ishmentofpolicef orce,thei
nvestigat
ionandpr osecut
ionofof fencesand
themai nt
enanceofl aw andor derwouldcomeundert hepurview oftheterm poli
cei nthisitem.The
offi
cersoft heNIAar egivenpowert oinv
estigatet heoff
ence,andhencet heyar enow doi ngpoli
ce
functi
onssansthenamepol i
ce.Inv i
ewofEntryNo.2i nLi
stII
,thereisnoscopef ortheestabl
ishmentof
poli
cebyt heCentr
e,exceptaspr ovi
dedinEntr
yNo.2AofLi stI.
Scopet
oAmendt
heNI
AAct
.
Ont heonesi deitr enderspossi bl
et ochal l
enget heConst i
tuti
onalv al
idi
tyoftheNI AActanewi n
theaf or esaidt erms,and,ont heot her,i
fatal li
tisfoundt hatthef ormat i
onofsuchanagencyi sv al
idas
the poweremanat es fr
om t he Concur r
entLi st,as pert he scheme oft he Const i
tuti
on,the St ate
Gov ernment swoul dbeatl ibert
yt oamendt heNI AActt owat erdowni tf orr
equiri
ngtheCent ret oseek
theirconsentbef orererout i
ngt hei nvesti
gationofsuchof fencest ot heNIA.Nat urall
y,ifsuchan
amendmentcr eat
es anyconundr um bygoi ng repugnantt ot he or i
ginalenactmentmade byt he
Par l
iament ,itmaynecessi tatet heassentoft hePr esident,asenv i
sagedi nArt
icl
e254( 2).Anyhow t he
StateLegi slaturesenjoysuchapower ,Ibelieve.Unlesst heSt ateGov ernmentsgetar i
ghtofaudi ence
ov erthei ssue,i nthelongr un,thef ederalsystem ofgov ernanceofournat i
onwi l
lbebadl yaff
ect edand
alsoi twi llbeabi gquestionwhatt hepr ospectt heAnt i
-TerroristSquadsofv ari
ousSt ateGov ernment s
can cr eate,when t he Cent r
alGov ernment ,att i
mes,aut hor i
tat
ively and arbitr
ari
lyr edir
ect st he
i
nv estigat i
ont oNI A?

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9
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bid
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2013Cr
iLJ5009