NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has designated a new special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai to conduct trials in all cases investigated by the agency involving scheduled offences across Maharashtra.
The decision, taken in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and the Maharashtra government, as required under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, was notified on July 11, 2026, officials said.
According to the notification issued by the MHA's Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation (CTCR) Division, Court Room No. 26 of the City Civil and Sessions Court, Mumbai, has been designated as the special court under Section 11(1) of the NIA Act. The court will exclusively hear cases investigated by the federal anti-terror agency.
The notification gives the newly designated court jurisdiction over the entire state of Maharashtra, meaning all scheduled offences investigated by the NIA, regardless of where they originate in the state, will be tried before the Mumbai-based special court.
Under the NIA Act, the Centre designates special courts to ensure the speedy trial of terrorism-related and other scheduled offences investigated by the agency. The dedicated forum is intended to streamline judicial proceedings, improve case management and provide a uniform trial mechanism for NIA cases across the state.
The latest notification supersedes an earlier MHA notification issued on December 12, 2019. However, it preserves the validity of all actions taken or omitted under the previous notification, ensuring continuity in ongoing proceedings.
The designation of the new special court is part of the Centre's statutory framework to strengthen the prosecution of terrorism and other offences investigated by the NIA, while reinforcing a specialised judicial mechanism for handling such cases in Maharashtra.