Allahabad High Court Clarifies That Charge-Framing Order Under NIA Act Is Not Interlocutory

The Allahabad High Court has held that an order framing charges passed by a Special Court under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 (NIA Act) is not an interlocutory order and can therefore be challenged by way of an appeal before the High Court under Section 21 of the 2008 Act. A bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi thus differed with the view of the Delhi High Court in the case of Shahid Yousuf v. NIA, wherein it was held that the order framing charges is interlocutory in nature and cannot be challenged in appeal under Section 21 of the 2008 Act.