NIA names LeT founder Hafiz Saeed as accused in Pahalgam terror attack
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a supplementary chargesheet in connection with the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, 2025, which killed 26 people — 25 tourists and one local civilian — in a religion-targeted killing in Jammu & Kashmir.
The chargesheet names the founder and chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), based in Pakistan, as an accused in his personal capacity and as the organizational head.
The Resistance Front (TRF), assessed by Indian agencies as a proxy outfit of LeT, has also been charged as a legal entity for its role in planning, facilitating, and executing the attack.
Accused have been charged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967 — including provisions relating to waging war against India and cross-border conspiracy.
An earlier NIA chargesheet (December 2025) had named a Pakistan-based handler and terrorists killed during Operation Mahadev in July 2025; the supplementary chargesheet extends accountability to organizational leadership.
National Investigation Agency (NIA)
The NIA is India's premier statutory counterterrorism investigative agency, established under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, following the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. It functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs and has nationwide jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute scheduled offences — including terrorism, terrorist financing, and attacks on India's sovereignty and security — without requiring prior permission from state governments.
Key Details
- Established: January 20, 2009 (Act received Presidential assent on December 31, 2008)
- The NIA Act's Schedule lists the offences over which NIA has jurisdiction, including UAPA cases.
- The NIA (Amendment) Act, 2019 expanded powers: the NIA Director General can seize or attach properties linked to proceeds of terrorism.
- NIA can investigate cases across state boundaries; this sets it apart from state police agencies.
- Prosecution under UAPA requires prior sanction of the Central Government.
The NIA is the lead investigating agency in the Pahalgam attack case, exercising its cross-border conspiracy jurisdiction to name Pakistan-based accused — a statutory power unique to it among Indian law enforcement bodies.
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 — UAPA
UAPA is India's principal anti-terrorism legislation, originally enacted in 1967 and substantially strengthened through amendments in 2004, 2008, and 2019. Section 15 defines a "terrorist act" as any act intended to threaten India's unity, integrity, security, or sovereignty, or to strike terror among people using explosives, weapons, or other lethal means. The 2019 amendment introduced the power to designate individuals (not just organisations) as terrorists (Section 35, Fourth Schedule).
Key Details
- Section 2(o): defines "unlawful activity."
- Section 15: defines "terrorist act."
- Section 35 (post-2019): Central Government can designate an individual as a terrorist without a judicial conviction — a significant departure from earlier law.
- Organisations can be banned as "unlawful associations" by the Central Government; a Tribunal reviews such designations.
- Bail provisions under UAPA are stricter than under ordinary criminal law.
- Both LeT and TRF are designated banned terrorist organisations under UAPA.
LeT and TRF have been charged as legal entities under UAPA — one of the few instances of an organisation itself (not merely its members) being named as an accused party in a terrorism chargesheet, underscoring UAPA's provision for organisational liability.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and The Resistance Front (TRF)
Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) is a Pakistan-based jihadist organisation, founded in the 1980s during the Afghan conflict. It has been designated a terrorist organisation by India, the United States, and the United Nations (UN Security Council listing: May 2, 2005, under Resolution 1526/2004). Its founder was listed by the UN Security Council on December 10, 2008, in connection with Al-Qaeda-related activities. Pakistan formally banned LeT in January 2002 but has been criticised internationally for insufficient enforcement. TRF emerged around 2019 as an outfit operating in Jammu & Kashmir, assessed by Indian intelligence as a LeT proxy designed to claim attacks while maintaining deniability for the parent organisation.
Key Details
- LeT UN listing: May 2, 2005 (Resolution 1526/2004).
- LeT founder: UN Security Council-listed since December 10, 2008.
- TRF: assessed as LeT's shadow arm, active post-2019 in J&K.
- India has invoked the principle of state-sponsored cross-border terrorism in this chargesheet — significant for international legal discourse.
Naming both LeT and TRF as accused legal entities in the same chargesheet signals India's legal strategy of establishing organizational liability for the attack, reinforcing the cross-border terrorism narrative in international forums.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and came into effect on July 1, 2024. It retains and renumbers core offences, including "waging war against the Government of India" (corresponding to the former Section 121 of IPC), which is invocable in cases of armed attacks directed from foreign soil.
Key Details
- BNS came into force: July 1, 2024.
- Replaced: Indian Penal Code, 1860.
- Waging war against India is a capital offence under both the old and new framework.
- BNS also replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) with the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
Charges of waging war against India under the BNS, alongside UAPA provisions, create a dual statutory framework for prosecuting cross-border terrorism — relevant for Mains questions on criminal law reform and internal security.
- Pahalgam attack date: April 22, 2025.
- Casualties: 26 killed (25 tourists, 1 local civilian).
- First NIA chargesheet: December 15, 2025.
- Supplementary chargesheet: July 2026.
- LeT UN Security Council listing: May 2, 2005.
- NIA established: January 20, 2009, under the NIA Act, 2008.
- UAPA originally enacted: 1967; key amendments in 2004, 2008, and 2019.
- Individual terrorist designation power: introduced by UAPA Amendment, 2019 (Section 35).
- BNS in force: July 1, 2024 (replaced IPC, 1860).