Appeal filed under NIA Act after expiry of 90 day period cannot be dismissed: SC

 New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA ) The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that no appeal filed under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act should be dismissed on the sole ground that it was filed after expiration of the limitation period of 90 days. A bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan opined that appeals preferred by the accused or the victims under Section 21 of the NIA ought not to be dismissed on the ground that the delay cannot be condoned beyond 90 days. Section 21 provides that an appeal can be filed against any judgment, sentence or order of a NIA court before a High Court. However, it restricted filing of appeals after the expiry of a period of 90 days. The CJI Khanna-led Bench was hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the above provision of the NIA Act, apart from the amendments introduced in Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 2019. The apex court opined that it should not be the court of “first instance” to adjudicate upon the validity of the UAPA provisions empowering the government to designate individuals as terrorists and seize properties. It said: “We cannot be the court of first instance. Let it be first decided by the High Court.” The SC allowed a plea to be transferred to the Delhi High Court after the petitioners challenging the 2019 UAPA Amendment Act expressed logistical difficulties. In February last year, the apex court allowed the withdrawal of the petitions challenging the constitutionality of the provisions of the anti-terror law. A Bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal dismissed as withdrawn the entire batch of petitions and asked the petitioners to approach the concerned High Court. “It is needless to say that the petitioners shall be at liberty to file appropriate proceedings before the appropriate forum as permissible under the law,” said Justice Trivedi-led Bench in its order. –IANS pds/pgh