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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a plea file by Popular Front of India (PFI) Chairman, O.M.A. Salam seeking quashing/setting aside of Reference Case (RC-14/2022) dated April 13, 2022, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Salam in his plea prayed that NIA should not file a final report under Section 173 (Report of police officer on completion of an investigation) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC).

Counsel for Salam stated that in the present case, the challenge is purely on legal grounds i.e. the NIA can only investigate only scheduled offences including offences under Section 6(5) of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008. He further stated that there is a mandatory requirement of permission from the Central Government.

The counsel added, that in the present case, there is permission and stated that, “I am saying they (NIA) may investigate but Lord! May have a scheme of Section 6..normal scheme is the State government finds a particular offence where there are elements of the interest of the Central Government…it then has 15 days to decide whether the NIA should be involved or not, and that decision either it is involved or not involved. Therefore, there is always a requirement under Section 6(1) to (4).”

“Section 6(5) says that regardless of sub-sections 1 to 4, in given cases the NIA may directly investigate the matter but not register the offence and that is in contradiction to Section 6(8). So the submission your Lordship! Is only this that if what is stated in the FIR is correct then an important step in this, that the offence ought to have been registered at first by the State (Delhi Police)”, the counsel contended.

Noting that the offence ought to be registered by the State of Delhi, Justice Jasmeet Singh issued notice to the NIA and directed the agency to file a reply/status report within four weeks. Accordingly, the court lists the matter for further hearing on July 11.

Salam was arrested during a search carried out by NIA on September 22, 2022, wherein incriminating documents, cash, sharp-edged weapons, and a large number of digital devices had been seized.

Case Title: O.M.A Salam v. National Investigation Agency

Statute: The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; The National Investigation Agency Act, 2008