KOCHI: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has designated two National Investigation Agency (NIA) courts in Kochi to conduct the trial in scheduled offences probed by NIA. Though these two courts have been handling NIA cases in Kerala, the power to conduct the trial was earlier vested with individual judges appointed to these courts.
“The key difference now is that a newly appointed judge won’t have to get a separate notification from MHA as the court itself is designated to conduct the trial in NIA cases. Earlier, a new judge could conduct the trial only after receiving a Ministry of Home Affairs notification gave the judge the power to do so under the NIA Act. As a designated court has that power, a new judge can proceed with the trial straight away,” an NIA official said.