Advancements in technology, communications, and transport have lent a new dimension to terrorism. India has learnt the hard way that terrorist activity has ramifications — international and inter-State — that require special expertise and resources not always available with an already overstrained State police. The idea of a Central agency to investigate terrorism and related offences has been mooted by many committees and experts, the latest being the Administrative Reforms Commission in June 2008. Evidently, it took the recent attack on Mumbai to spur the Centre into doing something about suggestions on these lines. The National Investigation Agency Bill 2008, which is now before Parliament, envisages the setting up of a separate organisation to deal with specified offences. Rather than leave the investigation of terrorist offences to a specialised wing of the CBI as the ARC recommended, the Centre has gone further by opting to constitute a totally new organisation for this purpose. The Bill gives the NIA the jurisdiction to investigate offences under a clutch of legislations such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Atomic Energy Act, and the Anti-Hijacking Act. To fast track the criminal justice delivery system, the Bill envisages the setting up of special courts. (Full Story)