Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958:
The Assam government recently extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958, in three districts for another six months.
- It is a law enacted by the Parliament in 1958 which gives the armed forces special powers and immunity to maintain public order in “disturbed areas”.
- It can be applied only after an area has been declared “disturbed” under section 2 of the Act.
Declaration of Disturbed Areas: - Defined under Section 3 of the Act, a “disturbed area” is where the use of armed forces is deemed necessary to support civil authorities in maintaining law and order.
- An area can be declared disturbed due to conflicts or disputes between various religious, racial, linguistic, regional, or caste-based communities.
- The central government, Governor of the state, or the administrator of the Union Territory can declare the whole or part of a state or union territory as a disturbed area.
- Once declared, the region is maintained as disturbed for at least three months under The Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976.
- The scope and duration of AFSPA can vary depending on the region’s security situation.
- The ‘special powers’ of armed forces under AFSPA are:
- They have the authority to prohibit a gathering of five or more persons in an area, can use force even to cause death or even open fire after giving due warning, if they feel a person is in contravention of the law.
- If reasonable suspicion exists, the army can also arrest a person without a warrant, enter or search a premises without a warrant, and ban the possession of firearms.
- Any person arrested or taken into custody may be handed over to the officer in charge of the nearest police station along with a report detailing the circumstances that led to the arrest.
- These armed forces are immune from prosecution unless the Union Government provides sanction to the prosecuting agencies.
- Where is AFSPA in force now? Currently, AFSPA is active in Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and the UT of J&K.
