The killing of 14 civilians in a botched military operation in Nagaland has led to fresh calls for repealing The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) is a Parliamentary act that grants special powers to the Indian Armed Forces and the state and paramilitary forces in areas classified as “disturbed areas”. The objective to implement the AFSPA Act is to maintain law and order in the disturbed areas.
What is AFSPA?
It gives powers to the army, state and central police forces to shoot to kill, search houses and destroy any property that is “likely” to be used by insurgents in areas declared as “disturbed” by the home ministry.
AFSPA is invoked when a case of militancy or insurgency takes place and the territorial integrity of India is at risk. Security forces can “arrest a person without a warrant”, who has committed or is even “about to commit a cognizable offense” even based on “reasonable suspicion”.
It also provides security forces with legal immunity for their actions in disturbed areas. While the armed forces and the government justify its need to combat militancy and insurgency, critics have pointed out cases of possible human rights violations linked to the act.
What is a “disturbed area” and who has the power to declare it?
A disturbed area is declared by notification under Section 3 of the AFSPA. An area can be disturbed due to differences or disputes between members of different religious, racial, language, or regional groups or castes or communities.
What is the origin of AFSPA?
In the wake of the partition riots, four ordinances were promulgated in 1947. The first was the Bengal Disturbed Areas (Special Powers of Armed Forces) Ordinance; this was followed by ordinances for Assam, East Punjab and Delhi, and the United Provinces. These were replaced by 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This was meant to be in force for one year but was repealed only in 1957. Thereafter, the President promulgated the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Ordinance in May 1958. This was subsequently replaced by an act of Parliament.
Initially known as the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act, 1958, it was subsequently adapted appropriately after the creation of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.
Which parts of the country come under AFSPA?
The AFSPA has been in force for decades in most parts of the Northeast States. 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 are ‘disturbed areas’. The last six-month extension was made on August 28 and June 30 respectively. The whole of Manipur, except for the Imphal municipal area, has been notified by the State government for one year from December 2020. In Arunachal Pradesh, the ‘disturbed area’ notification is confined to the districts of Tirap, Changlang, and Longding, and the areas falling under Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations, bordering Assam. The AFSPA was revoked in Tripura in May 2015, after being in force since February 1997. It was revoked by a decision of the State Cabinet following substantial improvement in the ground situation. Meghalaya was under AFSPA for 27 years, until it was revoked on April 1, 2018. The Act was implemented in a 20-km area along the border with Assam. Jammu and Kashmir has a separate J&K Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1990.
Why demand for its abolition of law
Detractors and human rights organizations, as well as many sections of civil society, argue that the Act encourages impunity and is the cause of many instances of excesses and atrocities committed by the armed forces under its protective cover. Irom Chanu Sharmila, an activist from Manipur, became an iconic figure symbolizing the struggle against AFSPA after she sat on an indefinite fast in 2000, demanding its repeal. She ended it only in August 2016. 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. It made this recommendation as it felt that the AFSPA created an impression that the people of the Northeast States were being targeted for hostile treatment. However, the Army has been resolutely opposed to the repeal of AFSPA.
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