Centre extends AFSPA in parts of Arunachal, Nagaland for 6 more months

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in certain districts of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland for another six months with effect from October 1, officials said on Thursday.

An MHA notification said that the AFSPA has been extended for another six months in Tirap, Changlang, and Longding districts in Arunachal Pradesh as well as areas under the jurisdiction of Namsai, Mahadevpur, and Chowkham police stations in Namsai district, bordering Assam.

A separate notification of the MHA said that the AFSPA was extended in eight districts -- Dimapur, Niuland, Chumoukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek, and Peren -- and 21 police station areas in five other districts of Nagaland, which has a total of 16 districts.

Officials in Itanagar and Kohima said the Centre took the step following a review of the law and order situation in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

Nagaland has 215 km of unfenced borders with Myanmar while Arunachal Pradesh has 1,817 km borders with China, Myanmar and Bhutan.

The AFSPA empowers the Army, para-military, and other security forces to arrest a person without a warrant, enter or search premises without a warrant, along with some other actions.

With the improvement in the security situation in the northeastern states, the Centre, in April 2022, reduced the number of disturbed areas under AFSPA in many areas of Nagaland, Assam and Manipur.

With significant improvement in the security situation, it was lifted from Tripura in 2015, Meghalaya in 2018 and Mizoram in the 1980s.

Many political parties, NGOs, and civil society organisations, including the influential North East Students' Organisation (NESO), Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation, the All Naga Students' Association, and the United Naga Council in the northeastern region have been demanding complete repeal of AFSPA.

Demanding the repeal of AFSPA, the NESO earlier this week said that the law continued to perpetuate violence with impunity and gross human rights violations across the northeast.

The demand intensified after security forces killed 14 people and injured 30 others at Oting in Nagaland’s Mon district in December 2021 in a case of “mistaken identity”.

On September 17, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P.B. Varale directed the closure of the FIR and consequent criminal proceedings initiated by the Nagaland government against members of the Indian Army operational team in connection with the killing of civilians.

The apex court allowed the writ petitions filed by the wives of officers for quashing of suo moto FIR registered against the personnel of 21 Para (Special Force).

The apex court noted that the sanction under Section 6 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 was rejected by the competent authority in February last year. Section 6 provides that no prosecution, suit or other legal proceedings can be instituted against any person in respect of anything done under the AFSPA except with the previous sanction of the Union government.

A large number of organisations have expressed their concern over the recent ruling by the Supreme Court regarding the Oting massacre.