NSA and its practical application in Criminal Litigation Shrinidhi Kodur BASICS OF LAW Sat, Oct 24, 2020, at ,05:22 PM Introduction The NSA(National Security Act of 1980) was brought in by the Parliament of India in the year 1980. The Act provides for preventive detention in certain cases and matters connected therewith. The Act focuses on maintaining law and order in the country and provides for detention of individuals who try to impede the law and order situation of a state or country. The Act contains 18 sections and confers power on states and central government to detain any person in the presence of the following grounds: Acting in any manner prejudicial to the defence of India, the relations of India with foreign powers, or the security of India. Regulating the continued presence of any foreigner in India or with a view to making arrangements for his expulsion from India. Preventing them from acting in any manner prejudicial to the: Security of the State; Maintenance of the public order; and Maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community it is necessary to do so. Application in Criminal Litigation The usage of the act has made it contentious when criminal law comes into the picture. Consequently, it criminal litigation cannot be impervious to it. When a person is arrested normally, he or she has certain basic rights. Such rights include the right to be informed of the reason for arrest and the right to bail. These rights are ensured by the various laws functioning in the country. Section 50 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr. PC) provides that an arrested person has the right to be informed of the grounds of such arrest, and the right to bail. Likewise, Section 56 and 76 of the Cr. PC also enumerates that an arrested person shall be produced before a court within 24 hours of arrest. Furthermore, Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India guarantees that an arrested person cannot be denied the right to consult and to be defended by a lawyer of his choice. However, such basic rights are not available to a person who has been detained under the provisions of NSA. A person has no right to know about the grounds of his detention for up to 5 days and in certain circumstances, not later than 10 days. While providing the reason for arrest, the government has the power to reserve information which it thinks would go against the public interest if disclosed. The arrested person has no right to seek the aid of any lawyer in any matter concerned with the proceedings before an Advisory Board, which has been constituted by the government to deal with the NSA cases. This is convenient for the government and police because it allows them to escape the strictures of the Criminal Procedure Code and the courts of the land. In this manner, the rights of citizens with respect to the pre-trial process are stripped which, will equally afflict lawyers.