The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is a law which grants special powers to the Armed Forces of India to act in areas of the country that are declared as “disturbed areas”. The Act says that in a disturbed area, the armed forces has some powers such as firing or using any other means of force against a person who acts against law and order; destroying any arms dump/hide outs, shelter/fortified position/training camps from which armed attacks have been made by armed gangs/armed volunteers/absconders who are wanted by the police; stop and search any vehicle, vessel, etc. which is suspected to carry a person or weapons; and several other powers.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was enacted in the year 1958. At that time, the states of north-east India, also known as the ‘Seven Sisters’, were identified as “disturbed areas”. The armed forces were given certain powers in these states.
However, in 2015, the AFSPA was revoked from Tripura. Also, in 2018, the Act was revoked from Meghalaya and 8 of 16 police jurisdictions in Arunachal Pradesh, as according to defence experts, Meghalaya, Tripura and parts of Arunachal Pradesh have been declared free of insurgency. The Act had been imposed in keeping with the geographical terrain of these regions and to keep at bay any influx by Bodos, Nagas or other tribes from neighbouring states. Now, say experts, state police forces can handle disturbances.
The AFSPA was enacted in the then-state of Jammu and Kashmir. It came into force on July 5, 1990. It enables some special powers to the armed forces of the area.
The Union Cabinet Secretariat has decided to put the onus on the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to take a decision on the imposition of the AFSPA on the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh after the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Does It Infringe On Civil Liberties?
As the powers conferred in the Act mentioned above, exercise of certain powers may violate the civil liberties as, sometimes, a person carrying a vehicle may be stopped and questioned several times by the armed forces even though they aren’t carrying weapons or other hazardous items in the vehicle. Killing for recognition may also occur sometimes.
Civil liberties have been violated due to AFSPA as Jammu and Kashmir tops the list of civil liberties violations under the AFSPA with 92 complaints against the Indian Army and the paramilitary forces. Assam is second with 58 complaints, and Manipur is third with 21 complaints with Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya following suit with 6 and 5 complaints respectively.
There are several instances where the armed forces have found to be misusing the powers conferred upon them like fake encounters, sexual exploitation of women, etc.
Is The AFSPA Justified Or Not?
Though the AFSPA has certain disadvantages such as violation or infringement of civil liberties and human rights, it has more advantages. Following are some of them:
- With the powers of the Act, the armed forces have been able to guard the borders of the country for decades.
- A strict law was needed to tackle the elements of insurgency and terrorism inside the country, especially in areas like Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern states.
- The Act also boosts the morale of the armed forces for ensuring public order in disturbed areas.
- Some safeguards are already mentioned in the Act like presenting the arrested civilians to the police within 24 hours or with the ‘least possible delay’, opening fire only when a terrorist or militant is clearly identified, etc.
Hence, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act is justified as it is for the safety and security of the ‘disturbed areas’ of the country. However, it has violated civil liberties and human rights. Therefore, to tackle the violation and infringement of human rights and civil liberties, provisions can be made such as detaining an Army officer immediately if they commit a crime like rape, molestation, robbery, abuse of power, and so on, and then question them.