Supreme Court Seeks Responses From 17 States Over Delay In NIA Trials

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Chief Secretaries of 17 States/ UTs on the status of establishing Special NIA Courts, considering the increased pendency of NIA trials.

The bench CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and NV Anjaria was hearing the issue of setting up a dedicated Special Courts for NIA trials, considering the backlog of cases before the district courts. Earlier, the Court had decided to examine the issue of pendency of trials under special statutes due to the lack of adequate special courts.

ASG Aishwarya Bhatti, appearing for the Union, informed the bench of the recent progress made with regard to designating special courts for NIA trials.

The ASG also pointed out that as of January 7, the Union has issued certains Norms for providing financial assistance of Rs. 1 Crores each for recurring and non-recurring expenditure incurred on setting up of Exclusive Special Courts on a reimbursement basis, subject to actuals for the concerned states.

The bench was further informed that there were presently 17 states/ UTs where more than 10 NIA trials are pending. These included Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Telangana.

Notably, as per the status report, Delhi has the highest pendency of 59 cases amongst them, while Manipur has the lowest pendency of 10 cases. The report details the status of establishing exclusive NIA courts in each of these states.

Considering the same, the bench sought responses from the 17 states' Chief Secretaries at the next hearing. The order stated :

"Let notice be issued to all the 17 states mentioned in Annexure 9, where cases of more than 10 NIA trials are pending. Notice is to be sent to the respective Chief Secretaries of the States. The Ld Advocate Generals of the above-mentioned states are directed to remain present in the Court, maybe personally or through online."

The court also remarked that the present case was important from the standpoint of witness protection before the Courts.

The CJI recalled that in earlier days the defence counsels would not even let the witness take a washroom break before cross-examination take places as the Investigating officer may influence the witness.

The counsel appearing along with the ASG added that now the tactic has been to delay the trial to ensure the acquittal of the accused.

Progress On Establishing Special NIA Courts So Far

The ASG submitted that the Court of District & Additional Sessions Judge-XV, Patna, has been designated as an Exclusive Court for trial of NIA cases vide Gazette Notification dated 08th January, 2026, after obtaining approval of the Competent Authority, i.e. Union Home Secretary.

In 2024, the Court of Additional Judicial Commissioner XVI, Ranchi, NΙΑ court; Jammu and the Court of Sessions at City Civil Court, Bombay (Court No. 25) were already designated as Exclusive Courts for trial of NIA cases.

The bench was also informed that the Government of Assam has also sanctioned the requisite posts for the establishment of an exclusive NIA Court at Guwahati.

The Government of Manipur and the Manipur High Court are yet to confirm the name of the court which shall be designated as a special NIA court.

The status report also mentions that the Gujarat High Court had also consented to establishing a special court, and as of January 2026, the Union Home Secretary has written to the Chief Secretary of the Gujarat Government to take immediate action on the proposal to designate the Court of Additional Principal Judge, City Civil Court, Ahmedabad as an Exclusive Court for trial of NIA cases.

Similarly, the Union has also written to the Chief Secretary of NCT Delhi requesting that the name of the Court which is to be assigned as the NIA's exclusive court.

Case Details: MD HEYDAITULLAH Versus NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY| SLP(Crl) No. 8799/2025