Earlier this month, the Supreme Court directed the setting up of exclusive NIA courts to enable timebound disposal of UAPA trials . “If there are more than 15 trials pending within the jurisdiction of a particular High Court… two courts will be set up. Whereas, where trials exceed 25, three courts will be set up,” a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi ordered. This followed a Court order that judges presiding over NIA courts not be burdened with additional work. If a court stands as a stark contrast to this, it is the one headed by Special NIA Judge Prashant Sharma at Patiala House Court in Delhi . The most sensitive NIA cases are heard in the Capital, which has just one other NIA court besides Justice Sharma’s. Appointed on November 20, 2025, Justice Sharma is the fifth judge to head the Patiala House NIA court since September 2022. Its four previous presiding judges spent an average of 11 months each in the post.…