JUDGMENT

P.N. PRAKASH, J.

This criminal appeal is at the instance of the National Investigation Agency (for short “the NIA”) calling into question, the legality and validity of the order dated 20.12.2021 passed by the Special Court under the NIA Act, 2008 (for brevity “the Special Court”), in and by which, the police custody application filed by the NIA has been dismissed.

2 The facts necessary for the disposal of this criminal appeal are as under:

2.1 Based on credible information that a group of terrorists was working under the banners of the Wahadat-E-Islam, Jamaat Wahadat-ul-Islam-al-Jihadiya, Jihadist Islamic Unit and Ansarallah, sympathetic to the ISIS and Al Qaida, the Government of India directed the NIA to investigate the matter, based on which, the NIA registered an FIR in RC No.16/2019/NIA/DLI at New Delhi on 09.07.2019 for the offences under Sections 120-B, 121-A and 122 IPC and Section 17, 18,18-B, 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (for brevity “the UAP Act”) and took up the investigation of the case.

2.2 During the course of the investigation, the NIA arrested 16 accused on various dates and remanded them in judicial custody. This case does not concern