Govt. extends AFSPA in parts of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh

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CategoryPolity

Last Updated30/03/2024

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in parts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh for another six months.

As per the notification, the AFSPA has been extended in the whole of eight districts and 21 police stations in five other districts of Nagaland.
In Arunachal Pradesh, it has been extended in three districts and areas falling under the jurisdiction of three police stations in Namsai district.

In the wake of the partition riots, four ordinances were promulgated in 1947.
These were replaced by a common legislation, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1948.
This was meant to be in force for one year, but was repealed only in 1957.
But subsequently extended by an act of parliament -the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act, 1958

Under this law, an area can be declared a ‘disturbed area’, bringing into play the protection it offers to the armed forces for use of force in the notified area.
The notification is extended periodically, mostly for six months at a time.
As of today, the whole of Assam and Nagaland, Manipur, with the exception of the Imphal municipal area, few districts of Arunachal Pradesh are notified as ‘disturbed areas’.
The AFSPA was revoked in Tripura and Meghalaya.

The Act empowers the Governor of any State, or the Administrator of a Union Territory, or the Central Government to notify parts of or the whole of a State or a Union Territory as a ‘disturbed area
- If they consider that the condition in such areas is so dangerous or disturbed that the use of the armed forces is necessary in aid of civil power.
In such a notified area, any officer of the armed forces may fire upon or use force, even to the point of causing death, against any person for the maintenance of public order.
The Act allows arrest and search of any premises without a warrant in a notified area, and the recovery of any confined person, or any arms and ammunition stored unlawfully.
No person can be prosecuted or subjected to any legal proceedings for action taken under the Act, without the Central Government’s previous sanction.
The exercise of these extraordinary powers by armed forces has often led to allegations of fake encounters and other human rights violations by security forces in disturbed areas

In this judgment Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the act but also held that
- Declaration should be for limited duration and must be a periodic reviewed after 6 months.
- While exercising the powers conferred upon him by AFSPA, the authorized officer should use minimal force necessary for effective action.

In 2005, a Government-appointed five-member committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge, B.P. Jeevan Reddy, recommended that AFSPA be repealed.
It suggested that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act could be suitably amended to deal with terrorism.

To minimize disruption and protect human rights, AFSPA should only be used in specific districts with proven unrest, not entire states.
Additionally, the government and security forces must follow the regulations established by the Supreme Court, the Jeevan Reddy Commission, and the National Human Rights Commission.