Courts can condone delays and hear appeals filed beyond the mandatory 90-day period under the NIA Act, Bombay High Court has ruled.

The high court said access to justice is a fundamental right and it cannot be rendered illusory or made subject to chance.

Under Section 21 (5) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, no appeal shall be entertained after 90 days have elapsed from the date of the order under challenge.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse allowed a
plea filed by Faizal Mirza, arrested by the NIA, seeking condonation of a delay of 838 days in filing an appeal seeking bail.

The high court noted that the NIA Act has to be read in conjunction with other laws and cannot be said to be a complete code in itself.

The bench expressed its displeasure with the contradictory stand taken by the NIA, noting that while the agency said delay cannot be condoned in Mirza’s case, it had filed petitions in other high courts seeking condonation of delay in appeals filed by it.