VIDEO EXPLAINER | 12 OCTOBER 2026
On 30 September 2026, a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, FZ1073, turned back mid-air after its captain was attacked in the cockpit. The aircraft was foreign, the airspace was foreign, and the airline was foreign. Yet on 9 October 2026 India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case. The reason: the captain, Smit Machchhar, is an Indian national. The case shows how far Indian criminal law can reach beyond India’s borders, and which statutes make that possible.
What happened on FZ1073
According to the FIR, as reported by ThePrint, the flight left Dubai at 7:05 am on 30 September with 174 passengers and 6 crew. Near the Jordan–Saudi border, at around 9:21 am Gulf time, it descended and turned back into Saudi airspace. The FIR says the Omani first officer attacked the captain, who suffered deep cuts to his head and hands. Passengers and crew overpowered and restrained the first officer, and other flydubai pilots on board landed the aircraft at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, at 10:45 am. Saudi authorities arrested the first officer, who was later moved to Abu Dhabi with a UAE security team.
On 9 October, the UAE Attorney General alleged that the 29-year-old first officer had planned to seize the aircraft and crash it into the terminal of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. This is an allegation, not a court finding. According to Khaleej Times (updated 11 October), the suspect confessed and said he acted alone; UAE investigators are still verifying that claim and examining possible accomplices, and they have not publicly named him. No charge sheet or court date has been reported.
The captain is recovering in a hospital in Abu Dhabi; India’s Ministry of External Affairs said on 7 October that he was recuperating well. Reports say Israel has announced that he will receive its Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism once he recovers.
The NIA case
On a direction from the Central Government, the NIA registered the case on 9 October under Section 3 of the Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016 and Section 16 read with Section 15(1)(a) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. Both are scheduled offences under the NIA Act, 2008, and the FIR cites the need to probe a larger conspiracy.
How can the NIA investigate a crime abroad?
The answer lies in the NIA (Amendment) Act, 2019, in force from 2 August 2019. It made three changes that matter here:
- Section 1(2)(d): the Act applies to persons who commit a scheduled offence beyond India against Indian citizens or affecting the interest of India.
- Section 6(8): the Central Government may direct the NIA to register and investigate such a case as if the offence had been committed in India.
- Section 6(9): such cases are tried by the Special Court, New Delhi.
There is a limit. Section 3(2) makes the NIA’s powers abroad subject to any international treaty or the domestic law of the country concerned. India can register and investigate, but evidence and the accused sit in another sovereign’s jurisdiction.
The Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016
The Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016 (Act 30 of 2016) replaced the 1982 Act. It gives effect to the Hague Convention, 1970 and the Beijing Protocol, 2010. The punishment is death if the offence causes the death of a hostage, security personnel or any person not involved in the offence; otherwise it is imprisonment for life, meaning the remainder of natural life, with a fine and confiscation of property. The Act treats an aircraft as “in service” from pre-flight preparation until 24 hours after landing.
Legal & institutional framework
- NIA Act, 2008: created the National Investigation Agency.
- NIA (Amendment) Act, 2019: Sections 1(2)(d), 6(8) and 6(9) give extra-territorial reach and a Special Court in New Delhi; Section 3(2) subjects this to treaties and foreign law.
- Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016: Section 3 (offence) invoked; replaced the 1982 Act.
- UAPA, 1967: Section 16 read with Section 15(1)(a) invoked.
- Tokyo Convention, 1963: offences committed on board aircraft. Hague Convention, 1970: suppression of unlawful seizure of aircraft, built on the principle of aut dedere aut judicare (extradite or prosecute).
CLAT angle
- Legal Reasoning: a passage on extra-territorial jurisdiction may ask whether an Indian agency can act on a crime committed abroad against an Indian citizen.
- Expect questions on the limit in Section 3(2): treaties and the other country’s law still apply.
- GK: match the convention to its subject (Tokyo 1963 vs Hague 1970) and the Act to its year (2016 replaced 1982).
- Distinguish an allegation by a prosecutor from a finding by a court, a frequent trap in passage-based questions.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Flight | flydubai FZ1073, Dubai to Tel Aviv, 30 Sep 2026 |
| On board | 174 passengers + 6 crew |
| Landed at | Tabuk, Saudi Arabia |
| Captain | Smit Machchhar, Indian national |
| NIA case registered | 9 Oct 2026, on the Centre’s direction |
| Laws invoked | Anti-Hijacking Act 2016 s.3; UAPA 1967 s.16 r/w s.15(1)(a) |
| NIA reach abroad | s.1(2)(d), s.6(8), s.6(9), added in 2019 |
| Trial court | Special Court, New Delhi |
Memory hook: “Tokyo On-board, Hague Hijack”
Tokyo (1963) covers offences committed on board; Hague (1970) targets the hijack itself. Add “19 reaches abroad”: the 2019 amendment gave the NIA its reach beyond India.
Why it matters
The case is a live test of the 2019 amendment: an Indian agency investigating an attack on an Indian citizen aboard a foreign aircraft, while the accused is held and questioned in another country. How the evidence is shared between countries will shape whether an Indian trial is possible.
Sources
Press Information Bureau (PMO release, 1 October 2026); ThePrint, BusinessToday and India TV (10 October 2026); ANI via LatestLY (10 October 2026); The National (9 October 2026); Khaleej Times (updated 11 October 2026); Gulf News and Deccan Chronicle (9 October 2026); the NIA (Amendment) Bill, 2019 text (PRS Legislative Research); the Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016 text.
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