NIA records conviction rate of 95.23%: Govt
NEW DELHI: The NIA, which registered 640 cases since its inception, has recorded a conviction rate of 95.23 percent in 147 cases which have been decided by courts, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Replying to an unstarred question in the lower house of the Parliament, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that in a move to speed up trials, the government has allocated 51 NIA special courts across the country, and special courts have been set up in Ranchi and Jammu exclusively for NIA cases.
The investigative agency, formed under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, in the wake of the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks, investigates offences relating to national security, friendly relations with foreign states, or international treaties.
Its jurisdiction was widened by the NIA (Amendment) Act, 2019, whereby offences related to Indian citizens or interests outside India could be investigated by the agency. Crimes regarding human trafficking, cyber terrorism, the Arms Act, and the Explosive Substances Act are also within the mandate of this agency.
The NIA has its headquarters in New Delhi and has established a robust national presence by operating two zonal offices in Guwahati and Jammu, along with 21 branch offices. During the last five years, 13 new branch offices and two zonal offices have been sanctioned, bringing the agency’s total sanctioned posts to 1,901—an increase of 664 during the same period.
Funding of the agency has also seen a considerable increase. The fund that started at Rs 12.09 crore in 2009-10 increased to Rs 394.66 crore in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
To strengthen its operational capacities, the NIA has introduced a number of high-tech programs. For instance, it has set up the National Terror Data Fusion & Analysis Centre to do big data analytics and to digitalise the investigation process to enhance efficiency and accountability. The Counter Terrorism Research Cell, formed earlier as the ISIS Investigation Research Cell in 2018, deals with more wide-ranging issues related to terrorism.
There are also specialised divisions for combating human trafficking, cyber terrorism, and terror funding, backed by experts in laws and advanced training. International cooperation has been one area of emphasis. In 2022, the NIA held the third Ministerial Conference on “No Money for Terror,” which was attended by delegates from 78 countries and 16 multilateral organizations. The agency has also undertaken joint capacity-building programs with foreign law enforcement agencies and provided training to state police forces, central police organisations, and foreign officers.
To enhance its forensic capabilities, the NIA recently inked a memorandum of understanding with the National Forensic Science University. Another component of FICN efforts is the joint task force instituted with Bangladesh and capacity-building programs for officers in India and neighbouring countries such as Nepal.
NIA has participated in joint working groups on counter-terrorism with 26 countries. Through such collaborations, the agency has brought itself to par with global standards, comparing its capacities with those of leading agencies in the world to effectively prevent, investigate, and prosecute crimes against national security.
