Current Affairs
Daily Bits

Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Polity & Governance
  • Published
    2nd Apr, 2022

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. 

Verifying, please be patient.

X