Armed forces (special powers) act, 1958 1

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Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), was passed on September 11, 1958, by the Parliament of
India.[1] It is a law with just six sections granting special powers to the armed forces in what the act terms as
"disturbed areas" .The Act has been at the heart of concerns about human rights violations in the regions of its
enforcement , where arbitrary killings, torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and enforced disappearances
have happened [2].
Contents
1 History
1.1 Armed Forces Special Powers (Assam and Manipur )Act, 1958
1.1.1 Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers (Amendment) Act, 1972
1.2 The Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Special Powers Act, 1983
2 The Act
3 Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
4 The Jeevan Reddy Commission
5 Non-state Views and Commentary
5.1 United Nations view
5.2 Non-governmental organizations' analysis
5.3 United States leaked diplomatic cables
5.4 Santosh Hegde commission on Manipur encounter deaths
6 See also
7 Footnotes
8 External links
History
The Armed Forces Special Powers Ordinance of 1942[3] was promulgated by the British on August 15, 1942 to
suppress the Quit India Movement.[4] Modeled on these lines , four ordinances—the Bengal Disturbed Areas
(Special Powers of Armed Forces) Ordinance; the Assam Disturbed Areas (Special Powers of Armed
Forces)Ordinance; the East Bengal Disturbed Areas (Special Powers of Armed Forces) Ordinance; the United
provinces Disturbed Areas(Special Powers of Armed Forces) Ordinance were invoked by the central government
to deal with the internal security situation in the country in 1947 which arouse out of Partition of India .These
Ordinances were replaced by the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1948 . Though the Act was a temporary
statute enacted for a period of one year, it continued till it was repealed in 1957 .[5]
Armed Forces Special Powers (Assam and Manipur )Act, 1958

In 1951, the Naga National Council (NNC) claimed to have conducted a ‘free and fair plebiscite’ in which about
99 per cent Nagas reportedly voted for a ‘Free Sovereign Naga Nation’.[6] There was a boycott of first general
election of 1952 which later , extended to boycott of government schools and ofﬁcials [7].In order to deal with the
situation, the Assam government imposed the Assam Maintenance of Public Order (Autonomous District) Act in
the Naga Hills in 1953 and intensified police action against the rebels. When the situation worsened, Assam
deployed the Assam Rifles in the Naga Hills and enacted the Assam Disturbed Areas Act of 1955, providing a
legal framework for the paramilitary forces and the armed state police to combat insurgency in the region.But the
Assam Rifles and the state armed police could not contain the Naga rebellion and the rebel Naga Nationalist
Council(NNC) formed a parallel government "The Federal Government of Nagaland" on March 22, 1956. The
state administration found itself incapable of handling the situation and asked for central assistance.[8] In response to
this continued unrest in the North-Eastern, that spilled over into the state of Manipur [9], The Armed Forces
(Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Ordinance 1958 was promulgated by the President Dr. Rajendra Prasad on
the 22nd May, 1958. Section 3 of the Ordinance empowers the Governor of Assam and the Chief Commissioner
of Manipur to declare the whole or any part of Assam or the Union territory of Manipur (Manipur was a Union
Territory at the time and later in became a state in 1972[10])as the case may be, to be a "disturbed area" . Once the
area was declared as "disturbed area" in the Official Gazette, any Commissioned Officer, Warrant Officer, non-
commissioned officer or any other person of equivalent rank in the armed forces may exercise, in the disturbed
area, the powers conferred by section 4 and 5 of the Ordinance.[1]It was replaced by Armed Forces (Assam and
Manipur) special Powers Act, 1958 on September 11, 1958.
Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers (Amendment) Act, 1972
The Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act,1958 empowered only the Governors of the States
and the Administrators of the Union Territories to declare areas in the concerned State of Union Territory as
'disturbed'.By Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers (Amendment) Act, 1972, such a power was
conferred concurrently upon the Central government.The reason for conferring such a power as per "Objects and
Reasons'" appended to the Bill was that , "Keeping inview the duty of the Union under Article 355
(http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_India/Part_XVIII) of the Constitution,inter alia, to protect every
State against internal disturbance, it is considered desirable that the Central government should also have power to
declare areas as 'disturbed', to enable its armed forces to exercise the special powers"[5]. The territorial scope of
Act also expanded to the five states of the North-East, - Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland , Tripura and to
the Union Territories Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram . In addition , the words , "The Armed Forces (Assam and
Manipur) Special Powers Act, 1958" were substituted by "Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958", getting the
acronym of AFSPA, 1958 .
The Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Special Powers Act, 1983
The central government enacted the Armed Forces(Punjab and Chandigarh) Special Powers Act on October 6,
1983, repealing The Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Special Powers Ordinance, 1983, to enable the
central armed forces to operate in the state of Punjab and the union territory of Chandigarh . The Act was enforced
in the whole of Punjab and Chandigarh on October 15, 1983.The terms of the Act broadly remained the same as
that of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Assam and Manipur) of 1972 except for two sections, which
provided additional powers to the armed forces.
1. Sub-section (e) was added to Section 4 stipulating that any vehicle can be stopped, searched and seized

forcibly if it is suspected of carrying proclaimed offenders or ammunition.
2. Section 5 was added to the Act specifying that a soldier has the power to break open any locks “if the key
there of is withheld”.[8]
The Act was withdrawn in 1997 , roughly 14 years after it came to force .
The Act
The Articles in the Constitution of India empower state governments to declare a state of emergency due to one or
more of the following reasons:
Failure of the administration and the local police to tackle local issues.
Return of (central) security forces leads to return of miscreants/erosion of the "peace dividend".
The scale of unrest or instability in the state is too large for local forces to handle.
In such cases, it is the prerogative of the state government to call for central help. In most cases, for example during
elections, when the local police may be stretched too thin to simultaneously handle day-to-day tasks, the central
government obliges by sending in the BSF and the CRPF. Such cases do not come under the purview of AFSPA.
AFSPA is confined to be enacted only when a state, or part of it, is declared a 'disturbed area'. Continued unrest,
like in the cases of militancy and insurgency, and especially when borders are threatened, are situations where
AFSPA is resorted to.[11]
By Act 7 of 1972, the power to declare areas as being disturbed was extended to the central government.[12]
In a civilian setting, soldiers have no legal tender, and are still bound to the same command chain as they would be
in a war theater. Neither the soldiers nor their superiors have any training in civilian law or policing procedures. This
is where and why the AFSPA comes to bear - to legitimize the presence and acts of armed forces in emergency
situations which have been deemed war-like. [11][13]
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
According to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), in an area that is proclaimed as "disturbed", an
officer of the armed forces has powers to:[14]
After giving such due warning, Fire upon or use other kinds of force even if it causes death, against the
person who is acting against law or order in the disturbed area for the maintenance of public order,
Destroy any arms dump, hide-outs, prepared or fortified position or shelter or training camp from which
armed attacks are made by the armed volunteers or armed gangs or absconders wanted for any offence.
To arrest without a warrant anyone who has committed cognizable offences or is reasonably suspected of
having done so and may use force if needed for the arrest.
To enter and search any premise in order to make such arrests, or to recover any person wrongfully
restrained or any arms, ammunition or explosive substances and seize it.
Stop and search any vehicle or vessel reasonably suspected to be carrying such person or weapons.

Any person arrested and taken into custody under this Act shall be made over to the officer in charge of the
nearest police station with the least possible delay, together with a report of the circumstances occasioning
the arrest.
Army officers have legal immunity for their actions. There can be no prosecution, suit or any other legal
proceeding against anyone acting under that law. Nor is the government's judgment on why an area is found
to be disturbed subject to judicial review.
Protection of persons acting in good faith under this Act from prosecution, suit or other legal proceedings,
except with the sanction of the Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred by this Act.
For declaring an area as a 'disturbed area' there must be a grave situation of law and order on the basis of which
Governor/Administrator can form opinion that an area is in such a disturbed or dangerous condition that use of
Armed Forces in aid of civil power is necessary .[15]
The Jeevan Reddy Commission
In 2004, in the wake of intense agitation [16] that was launched by several civil society groups following the death of
Thangjam Manorama, while in the custody of the Assam Rifles and the indefinite fast undertaken by Irom Sharmila,
Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil visited Manipur and reviewed the situation with the concerned state authorities.
In the same year, Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh assured activists that the central government would consider
their demand sympathetically.
The Central Government accordingly set up a five-member committee under the Chairmanship of Justice B P
Jeevan Reddy, former judge of the Supreme Court. The panel was given the mandate of "review[ing] the provisions
of AFSPA and advise[ing] the Government of India whether (a) to amend the provisions of the Act to bring them in
consonance with the obligations of the government towards protection of human rights; or (b) to replace the Act by
a more humane Act."
The Reddy committee submitted its recommendations on June 6, 2005. In December 2006, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh declared that the Act would be amended to ensure it was 'humane' on the basis of the Jeevan
Reddy Commission's report.[17]
Non-state Views and Commentary
United Nations view
When India presented its second periodic report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in 1991,
members of the UNHRC asked numerous questions about the validity of the AFSPA. They questioned the
constitutionality of the AFSPA under Indian law and asked how it could be justified in light of Article 4 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ICCPR. On 23 March 2009, UN Commissioner for Human
Rights Navanethem Pillay asked India to repeal the AFSPA. She termed the law as "dated and colonial-era law
that breach contemporary international human rights standards."[18]
On 31 March 2012, the UN asked India to revoke AFSPA saying it had the no place in Indian democracy.
Christof Heyns, UN's Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions said "During my visit to
Kashmir, AFSPA was described to me as 'hated' and 'draconian'. It clearly violates International Law. A number

A soldier guards the roadside
checkpoint outside Srinagar
International Airport in January 2009.
of UN treaty bodies have pronounced it to be in violation of International Law as well."[19]
Non-governmental organizations' analysis
The act has been criticized by Human Rights Watch as a "tool of state abuse, oppression and discrimination".[20]
The South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre argues that the governments' call for increased force is part
of the problem.[21]
"This reasoning exemplifies the vicious cycle which has been instituted in the North East due to
the AFSPA. The use of the AFSPA pushes the demand for more autonomy, giving the people of
the North East more reason to want to secede from a state which enacts such powers and the
agitation which ensues continues to justify the use of the AFSPA from the point of view of the
Indian Government." - The South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre[22]
A report by the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis points to multiple occurrences of violence by security
forces against civilians in Manipur since the passage of the Act.[23] The report states that residents believe that the
provision for immunity of security forces urge them to act more brutally.[23] The article, however, goes on to say
that repeal or withering away of the act will encourage insurgency.
[24] In addition to this, there have been claims of disappearances by the police or the army in Kashmir by several
human rights organizations.[25][26]
Many human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and the
Human Rights Watch (HRW) have condemned human rights abuses in
Kashmir by police such as "extra-judicial executions", "disappearances",
and torture;[27] the "Armed Forces Special Powers Act", which
"provides impunity for human rights abuses and fuels cycles of violence.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) grants the military
wide powers of arrest, the right to shoot to kill, and to occupy or destroy
property in counterinsurgency operations. Indian officials claim that
troops need such powers because the army is only deployed when
national security is at serious risk from armed combatants. Such
circumstances, they say, call for extraordinary measures." Human rights
organizations have also asked Indian government to repeal[28] the Public
Safety Act, since "a detainee may be held in administrative detention for a
maximum of two years without a court order.".[29]
Activists who are working in J&K for peace and human rights include names of Madhu Kishwar, Ashima Kaul,
Ram Jethmalani, Faisal Khan, Ravi Nitesh, Swami Agnivesh, Dr. Sandeep Pandey and many others. They all
accept that people to people communication and development of new avenues are the only way for peace,
however laws like AFSPA are continuously violating human rights (http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/remove-
afspa-1687.aspx) issues there.

United States leaked diplomatic cables
The Wikileaks diplomatic cables have recently disclosed that Indian government employees agree to acts of human
rights violations on part of the Indian armed forces and various paramilitary forces deployed in the north east parts
of India especially Manipur. The violations have been carried out under the cover of this very act. Governor S.S.
Sidhu admitted to the American Consul General in Kolkata, Henry Jardine, that the Assam Rifles in particular are
perpetrators of violations in Manipur which the very same cables described as a state that appeared more of a
colony and less of an Indian state.[30][31]
Earlier leaks had also stated that International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had reported to the United
States diplomats in Delhi about the grave human rights situation in Kashmir which included the use of electrocution,
beatings and sexual humiliation against hundreds of detainees. This act is in force in Kashmir since 1990.[32]
Santosh Hegde commission on Manipur encounter deaths
A high-power commission headed by the retired Supreme Court judge, Santosh Hegde was constituted in January
2013 to probe six encounter deaths in Manipur.[33] The committee, comprising former Supreme Court judge
Santosh Hegde, ex-CEC J M Lyngdoh and a senior police officer, has said in its report that the probe showed that
none of the victims had any criminal records.[34] The judicial commission set up by the Supreme Court is trying to
make the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) more humane, and the security forces more
accountable. The committee has suggested fixing a time frame of three months for the central government to decide
whether to prosecute security personnel engaged in extra-judicial killings or unruly behaviour in insurgency-hit
regions.The Commission noted that AFSPA was an impediment to achieving peace in regions such as Jammu and
Kashmir and the northeast.The commission also said the law needs to be reviewed every six months to see whether
its implementation is actually necessary in states where it is being enforced. About Section 6 of the act, which
guarantees protection against prosecution to the armed forces, the report said: “It is not that no action can be taken
at all. Action can be taken but with prior sanction of the central government.[35]
See also
Armed Forces Act
Irom Sharmila Chanu
Footnotes
1. ^ a b “THE ARMED FORCES (SPECIAL POWERS) ACT, 1958”
(http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/armed_forces_special_powers_act1958.pdf)
2. ^ "Court-appointed panel highlights misuse of AFSPA in Manipur" (http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-
states/courtappointed-panel-highlights-misuse-of-afspa-in-manipur/article4921637.ece). July 17, 2013. Retrieved
29 July , 2013.
3. ^ "(THE) ARMED FORCES (SPECIAL POWERS) ORDINANCE, 1942"
(http://indianarmy.nic.in/Site/RTI/rti/MML/MML_VOLUME_3/CHAPTER__01/452.htm). Retrieved 29 July , 2013.
4. ^ "A VICIOUS CYCLE OF VIOLENCE"
(http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050426/asp/opinion/story_4639191.asp). The Telegraph. April 26, 2005.

Retrieved 29 July , 2013.
5. ^ a b "Report of the Committee, headed by Justice Jeevan Reddy, to Review the Armed Forces (Special Powers)
Act 1958 - Part II - Legal and Constitutional Aspects ." (http://www.hindu.com/nic/afa/afa-part-ii.pdf) (PDF).
Retrieved 29 July , 2013.
6. ^ Singh M. Amarjeet. "The Naga Conflict. NIAS Backgrounder on Conflict Resolution, B7-2012"
(http://www.nias.res.in/docs/B7-Naga.pdf). National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. Retrieved 29 July ,
2013.
7. ^ "Interning Insurgent Populations: The Buried Histories of Indian Democracy"
(http://www.yale.edu/agrarianstudies/colloqpapers/22sundar.pdf). Economic And Political Weekly. February 05,
2011. Archived from the original (http://www.epw.in/special-articles/interning-insurgent-populations-buried-
histories-indian-democracy.html) on |archiveurl=requires |archivedate=(help). Retrieved 29 July , 2013.
8. ^ a b Chadha, Vivek. ARMED FORCES SPECIAL POWERS ACT - The Debate
(http://idsa.in/system/files/Monograph7.pdf). ISBN 978-81-7095-129-1 Check |isbn=value (help). Retrieved 29
July , 2013.
9. ^ "LAND RIGHTS, AUTONOMY AND CONFLICT IN MANIPUR"
(http://planningmanipur.gov.in/pdf/MSDR/Chapter%2017_Land%20Rights%20Autonomy.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 28
July , 2013.
10. ^ "Manipur" (http://www.archive.india.gov.in/knowindia/state_uts.php?id=17). Retrieved 28 July , 2013.
11. ^ a b Harinder Singh (July 6, 2010). "AFSPA: A Soldier’s Perspective". Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
12. ^ "Report of the Committee, headed by Justice (Retd) B.P. Jeevan Reddy, to Review the Armed Forces (Special
Powers) Act 1958 -Part-II Legal and Constitutional aspects" (http://www.hindu.com/nic/afa/afa-part-ii.pdf) (PDF).
The Hindu. Retrieved 28 July , 2013.
13. ^ Anil Kamboj (October 2004). "Manipur and Armed Forces (Special Power) Act 1958". Institute for Defence
Studies and Analyses.
14. ^ “(PDF) The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990”
(http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/Armed%20forces%20_J&K_%20Spl.%20powers%20act,%201990.pdf) Indian Ministry of
Law and Justice Published by the Authority of New Deli
15. ^ "Naga People's Movement of Human Rights vs. Union of India,1998".
16. ^ "MANIPUR ON FIRE" (http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2118/stories/20040910007400400.htm). Frontline.
September 2004. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
17. ^ "Centre may amend AFSPA, Army could lose cover" (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-06-
20/india/28276024_1_army-personnel-amendments-fake-killings). The Times of India. Jun 20, 2010. Retrieved 29
July , 2013.
18. ^ "United Nations asks Indian govt to repeal AFSPA" (http://www5.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?
NewsId=407469&IdLanguage=3). IRNA. March 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
19. ^ UN asks India to repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act (http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/un-asks-india-to-
repeal-armed-forces-special-powers-act-192249?pfrom=home-otherstories)
20. ^ “Crisis in Kashmir” (http://www.cfr.org/publication/17155/crisis_in_kashmir.html) Council on Foreign Relations
21. ^ India: Repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act; 50th Anniversary of Law Allowing Shoot-to-Kill, Other Serious
Abuses. (http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/08/17/india-repeal-armed-forces-special-powers-act) Human Rights
Watch
22. ^ AFSPA (http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/resources/armed_forces.htm) South Asian HRDC
23. ^ a b Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis, 'Manipur and Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958'
(http://www.idsa.in/strategicanalysis/ManipurandArmedForcesSpecialPowerAct1958_akamboj_1004) "the alleged
rape and killing of Manjab Manorama", "security forces have destroyed homes", "arrests without warrants",
"widespread violations of humane rights", "The cases of Naga boys of Oinam village being tortured before their
mothers by Assam rifles Jawans in July 1987; the killing of Amine Devi and her child of Bishnupur district on April
5, 1996 by a CRPF party; the abduction, torture and killing of 15-year-old Sanamacha of Angtha village by an
Assam Rifles party on 12th February 1998; the shooting dead of 10 civilians by an Assam Rifles party in
November 2000 are some of the glaring examples that are still fresh in the mind of Manipuris."
24. ^ "Blood Tide Rising" (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,977469,00.html). TIME Magazine.
January 18, 1993.

25. ^ India (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78871.htm)
26. ^ BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Kashmir's extra-judicial killings
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6367917.stm)
27. ^ Behind the Kashmir Conflict - Abuses in the Kashmir Valley
(http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kashmir/abuses.htm)
28. ^ India: Repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/11/20/india17381.htm)
29. ^ Behind the Kashmir Conflict: Undermining the Judiciary (Human Rights Watch Report: July 1999)
(http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kashmir/judiciary.htm)
30. ^ Nambath, Suresh (March 21, 2011). "‘Manipur more a colony of India'" (http://www.thehindu.com/news/the-
india-cables/article1556697.ece). The Hindu (Chennai, India).
31. ^ http://www.thehindu.com/news/the-india-cables/the-cables/article1556742.ece/ref>
32. ^ Burke, Jason (December 16, 2010). "WikiLeaks cables: India accused of systematic use of torture in Kashmir"
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/16/wikileaks-cables-indian-torture-kashmir?INTCMP=SRCH). The
Guardian (London).
33. ^ http://http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/santosh-hegde-panel-to-probe-manipur-encounter-
deaths/article4287753.ece/
34. ^ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-04/india/38277575_1_apex-court-ibobi-singh-government-
manipur
35. ^ http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1863920/report-sc-panel-pushes-for-a-humane-afspa
External links
Presentation on Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 by Major General Nilendra Kumar, Director,
Amity Law School Noida (https://docs.google.com/open?
id=0B70n4ds8OvSOOGM1NzEyOWUtYmI5MC00ZTBiLTlkZmUtYmI1Njc5MTg4NWNm)
Coverage on website of South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre
(http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/resources/armed_forces.htm)
"Armed Forces Act to go from Imphal" (http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/aug/12mani1.htm) - rediff.com
article dated August 12, 2004
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Armed_Forces_(Special_Powers)_Act,_1958&oldid=566265433"
Categories: Indian Army Kashmir conflict Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir 1958 in law
Indian federal legislation 1958 in India
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