Context
Recently, the central government has decided to reduce disturbed areas under Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur after decades.
What is AFSPA?
- The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 grants special powers to the Indian Armed Forces to maintain public order in "disturbed areas".
- Under the Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976, an area that is once declared as 'disturbed', has to maintain the status quo for at least 6 months.
AFSPA Act special powers to Armed Forces
- The AFSPA act empowers security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior warrant.
- The act gives the security forces a certain level of immunity in case of an operation gone wrong.
- Section 4 of AFSPA Act 1958 accords special powers to the armed forces, authorising the security forces to arrest anyone without a warrant, open fire, enter and search any property without any warrant.
- Section 6 of AFSPA Act grants immunity to the security forces from prosecution or any other legal proceedings.
Background
- The Assam government on March 1, 2022 extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in the entire state for six more months with effect from February 28, 2022.
- The AFSPA has been extended in the state every six months since 1990 after a review by the state government.
- The Nagaland Cabinet had recommended repealing the AFSPA Act in the state after an incident in Mon district in which security forces gunned down 14 civilians.
- Nagaland Chief Minister had called for a repeal of AFSPA in their respective states.
AFSPA in India
- The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was initially promulgated by the British to suppress the Quit India movement in 1942.
- India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru decided to retain the Act and brought in an ordinance and notified it as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act,1958.
- The AFSPA Act was initially applicable to the Naga Hills, which was then part of Assam.
- It spread to the other seven sisters in India's northeast one by one.
- AFSPA had expanded to all seven states of the North-East - Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram and even Punjab, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir.
