Madras HC quashes special court order rejecting NIA plea for custody of accused

The Madras High Court has set aside a special court order declining grant of 10 days custody of an accused to the NIA in a case related to the killing of a Hindu outfit activist in 2016.

A bench comprising justices M Venugopal and R Hemalatha directed the special judge of the court in Poonamalee here to restore the criminal miscellaneous petition of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and pass necessary orders de novo (afresh).

The bench was allowing an appeal by the NIA challenging the March 16 last order of the special court rejecting its plea for custody of Mubarak alias Mohammed Mubarak, arrested in connection with the killing of Hindu Munnani leader C Sasikumar on September 22, 2016 by a gang in Coimbatore.

The probe into the case was taken over by the NIA from CB-CID police on January 31.

In the miscellaneous petition filed in the special court, the NIA's Chief Investigating Officer had sought 10 days custody of the accused stating that custodial interrogation was needed to collect more evidence "to unearth the overall larger conspiracy in the case".

In its order, the high court bench rejected the arguments of the counsel for the accused that the order passed by the special court was only an 'interlocutory order" and an appeal against it was not maintainable under Section 21(3) of the NIA Act.

The bench held that even though there was no provision for filing of an appeal against an interlocutory order in the Criminal Procedure Code, the provisions of NIA Act were clear contra distinction of the CrPC because of the simple reason that the act was a special enactment.

"It is to be borne in mind that the NIA Act, 2008 is a special act. But the Criminal Procedure Code is a general one," the judges ruled in the recent order.

As per Section 21 of the Act, the appeal preferred before this court "is to be heard by a division bench and the high court's power as per Section 21(4) of the Act is co-extensive with the powers of the special court," the order added.

Holding that the NIA's appeal was maintainable both on facts and law, the bench directed the special judge to restore the miscellaneous petition seeking and pass necessary orders "de novo, in a fair, just, unbiased and dispassionate manner, untrammelled and uninfluenced by any of the observations made by this court.