In a decision that could turn out to be controversial, the Union Home Ministry on Thursday extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in the state of Nagaland for another six months.
“The Central government is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole of the State of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary”, read a Home Ministry notification.
The notification added that in exercise of powers conferred under Section 4 of the Act, “the Central government hereby declares that whole of the State of Nagaland to be ‘disturbed area’ for a period of six months with effect from 30th December, 2021, for the purpose of the said Act”.
The last time such an extension was made was on June 30, 2021.
The Act, applied to states in the North-East since 1958, gives unbridled powers to the armed forces and the Central Armed Police Forces deployed in “disturbed areas”. Under the Act, killing anyone acting in contravention of law, arrests and the search of any premises without a warrant is permitted, coupled with protection from prosecution and legal suits without the Central government’s sanction.
Both the Central and state governments have concurrent powers to issue a notification under Section 3 of the Act.
On December 8, the Manipur government issued a notification to extend the Act in the state, excluding the municipal areas of Imphal, for another year. The governor had cited “violent activities of various extremist/insurgent groups” and “disturbed condition” of the state in justification of extending AFSPA.
On December 26, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio announced that the Union Home Ministry had formed a committee to look into the withdrawal of the Act in Nagaland, which erupted in protests since December 4 when 13 civilians were killed in a botched operation by the Army near Oting, in Mon district.
The Union Ministry has issued the “disturbed area” notification only for Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh in the districts of Tirap, Changlang, Longding, and on areas falling under the Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations, bordering Assam.
In Assam, the Union Ministry had issued the “disturbed area” order till 2017. Since then, the state has been renewing the notification every six months, with the last renewal on September 10.
