NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY

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In News

The Union Minister of Home and Cooperation has inaugurated the office of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at New Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
The Minister has highlighted that the NIA has achieved a conviction rate of nearly 94 %.
NIA has extended its operations in 18 States. The Minister has set a target that by May 2024 the NIA will make its presence in all states.

National Investigation Agency

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act of 2008 established the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
It is a central agency charged with investigating and prosecuting crimes:
- Harming India's sovereignty, security, and integrity, as well as state security and amicable ties with other countries.
- Oppose nuclear and atomic power plants.
- High-Quality Counterfeit Indian Currency Smuggling.
Its goal is also to fight terrorism in India.
The Central Counter-Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency is in charge of it.

Concern

Legal Requirements:
- In the Indian judicial system, no provision allows a domain expert to be a formal member of the evidence-gathering team.
- In the absence of such a provision, the prosecution risks being charged with evidence tampering if any agency uses a domain expert, as the Criminal Procedure Code only allows the police to gather evidence.
Inducement of experts:
- Domain expertise was also required for efficient use of the instruments used to investigate such crimes.
- Investigative agencies often suggested inducting specialists and providing necessary staff training during the UPA era.
Cross-border investigation:
- Problems involving many countries demand more skilled and effective teams.
- Such team formations necessitate a change in the legislation as well as the government's willingness to make the change.
Police – the state subject:
- The preservation of public order and police forces are listed as matters of state in Schedule VII of the Constitution.
- Criminal law, on the other hand, is on the concurrent list, while national security is on the union list.

Way Forward

Given that cross-border investigations are frequently required in cybercrime cases, a mechanism of cooperative investigations involving investigators from India and the nations involved should be implemented.
The need for team inquiry should be emphasised.
It is widely used in many nations. For example, crimes like the ransomware assault on a pipeline network in the United States were probed by teams of police officers and professionals in the disciplines.