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Polity & Governance
Mahesh

21/07/24 12:44 PM IST

Rules to prosecute armed forces personnel

In News
  • Recently,Supreme Court admitted a petition by the Nagaland government that challenged the central government’s order refusing sanction for the prosecution of 30 Army personnel for allegedly killing 13 civilians in the Mon district of the state in December 2021, during a botched operation against militants.
Rules
  • Col Mukul Dev (retd), a veteran military lawyer who practises in the Supreme Court, said that under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), no central government employee can be prosecuted without the sanction of the central government.
  • The Centre likely did not grant sanction to prosecute these personnel since the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA), was in force in Nagaland’s Mon district at the time the incident occurred.
  • The AFSPA grants certain special powers to the armed forces and provides them with special protections in certain notified areas that are “disturbed or [in] dangerous condition [such] that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil powers is necessary’’.
  • These “disturbed” areas, which could be a state or a part of it, have typically been those that are hit by militancy.
  • AFSPA allows the armed forces to open fire, even causing death, make arrests without warrants on the basis of “reasonable suspicion”, and also search premises without warrants.
  • Security personnel cannot be prosecuted or have legal proceedings initiated against them for these actions without the prior approval of the Centre.
  • The Centre’s decision not to sanction prosecution of these personnel would have been based on these two primary factors.
  • The Centre has, in the past, granted sanction for prosecution despite AFSPA being applicable in an area.
  • This is done if it is found that the armed forces or security forces personnel have carried out unwarranted atrocities or have exceeded their mandate against civilians during official discharge of duties.
  • Also, armed forces personnel are given immunity against action if it is established that an offence was committed by them unintentionally while discharging their official duties.
Source- Indian Express

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