The Supreme Court on Friday issued several directives, including the establishment of special courts, to expedite the trial of cases registered under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act. This was done by declaring that there shall be at least one special court constituted which will have 10 to 15 NIA investigations pending cases, and this must be done within one month.

These orders were passed by a three-judge Bench comprising of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. It directed the central government to take consultations with the Chief Justices of the respective High Courts about establishing special courts as per Section 11 of the NIA Act, 2008.

Section 11 of the NIA Act empowers the Central Government to establish special courts. The Court has requested the Chief Justices of High Courts to consult with the State Governments and provide necessary and adequate space for the establishment of special courts where such cases can be tried.

The Court issued these instructions during a suo motu hearing on the matter of the creation of special courts. The Court stated in its order that no additional cases will be assigned to the special courts and that cases will be heard on a daily basis.

The Court stated that judges of the special courts will be free to list cases as per their discretion, provided at least one hearing is completed within a month. The Court clarified that there should be at least one special court for every 10 to 15 cases.

In High Courts with jurisdictions where cases are pending for more than 15 cases, two special courts will be established, and where cases are pending for more than 25 cases, three courts will be established. The next hearing in the case will be in July.