Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) extended to parts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh

Posted 27 Sep 2024

2 min read

Ministry Of Home Affairs has declared these areas as ‘disturbed area’ under Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 for a period of six months.

Currently, AFSPA is in effect in parts of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh.
AFSPA is in force in Jammu and Kashmir(J&K) through Armed Forces (J&K) Special Powers Act, 1990.

About AFSPA:

Objective: Conferring certain special powers upon members of the armed forces in disturbed areas in North eastern States.
Section 3 of Act: Governor of State or Administrator of Union territory or Central Government may declare whole/such part of such State/UT to be a disturbed area.
- Disturbed area is an area where use of armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary.
Section 4 of Act: Gives special powers to armed forces although they must be exercised with extreme caution.
- After giving due warning, it can fire upon/use force against any person acting in contravention of laws,
- If reasonable suspicion exists, can also arrest a person without a warrant;
Unless otherwise authorized by the central government, Army soldiers operating under AFSPA are shielded from all legal actions.

Issues with AFSPA

Violations of Fundamental Rights: It violates Articles 14, 19, 21, etc. of Constitution.
Against International Law: Violates Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) etc.
Centre-State conflicts: AFSPA erodes states' autonomy even during peaceful times.

Way-forward:

Repealing AFSPA & Inserting appropriate provisions in Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967(Jeevan Reddy committee (2004)
Implement a bottom-up governance model to empower grassroots communities.