In Brief
The Supreme Court held that after the Ministry of Home Affairs directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over investigation of terrorism-related offences under the NIA Act in 2016, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) could lawfully continue investigating and file a charge-sheet until the NIA physically received the case papers and commenced its own investigation. Section 6(7) of the NIA Act imposes a statutory duty on police to continue investigation until the NIA actually takes over. The court also confirmed that the Chief Judicial Magistrate retained jurisdiction to remand and commit the case to trial, since no Special Court had been designated under the NIA Act at that time. The appeals were dismissed and the High Court judgment affirmed.
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