The Supreme Court on 17 September closed all further proceedings in a FIR filed against 30 army personnel accused of the murder of innocent civilians in Nagaland in 2021.The SC justified its decision on the basis that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA), is in operation in Nagaland. According to the Supreme Court ruling, Section 6 of the Act said that Armed Forces personnel cannot be prosecuted without sanction of the “competent authority”. By “competent authority” is meant the Union Home Ministry.The Supreme Court’s decision has led to the closure of all FIRs against the accused.
On 4 December 2021 evening, a contingent of the army’s counter-insurgency unit, 21 Para Special Forces, killed six civilians and injured two others – all residents of Oting village in the state’s Mon district bordering Myanmar – while they were returning home in a pick-up van after working at a coal mine. The security forces claimed that they ‘mistook’ them for militants. According to a statement issued by Dimapur-based 3 Corps of the army, the unit was on a counter-insurgency operation in the area following a tip-off on the likely movement of militants belonging to the NSCN (Khaplang).
This incident of cold blooded murder sparked widespread outrage in Mon district, resulting in violent clashes over several days, between the residents of Oting village and the para military forces. Seven other civilians were killed by the army during the protests of the people against the killing of their fellow villagers.
Local police filed an FIR (first information report) on the murder of the mine workers, following which the Nagaland government set up a five-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe the violence. The Special Investigation Team formed by the Nagaland government filed a charge sheet naming 30 members of the 21 Para based on irrefutable evidence.
However, by an order dated February 28, 2023, the Home Ministry declined to grant the sanction to prosecute the guilty army personnel.
Several organizations in Nagaland have expressed their discontent over the Supreme Court’s decision on September 17 to close criminal proceedings against the 30 Indian Army personnel. These organizations include the Oting Students’ Union (OSU), Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), NSCN (I-M), and Naga Hoho.
The SC ruling must be condemned for its blatant negation of the human rights of the people of Nagaland. The experience of the people in states which are under AFSPA is that the central government which is the “competent authority” will never sanction the prosecution of armed personnel even they are found guilty beyond doubt of a heinous crime. For the Supreme Court to go by Rule 6 of the Act in response to an appeal after the central government has refused to sanction action against the accused is making a farce of justice.
It is the central government of the Indian state that has the power to withdraw or extend AFSPA from any part of the country. Over six decades, it has been declaring certain districts and police jurisdictions as “disturbed” to justify the imposition of the Act. A notification issued recently, on 26 September 2024, has extended AFSPA in Nagaland for another six months from 1 October 2024.
The decision to close the FIRs without prosecution further compounds the gross injustice the Naga people have endured. In a letter addressed to Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, the NSF demanded that the Centre give prosecution sanctions against the personnel and withdraw the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from the “Naga homeland and the northeast”.
“The Oting incident is not merely an isolated act of violence but a reflection of systemic injustice that has persisted under the draconian AFSPA,” the letter read.
It is a fact that for more than 65 years, AFSPA has been used in the north eastern states to perpetuate state terrorism. AFSPA gives the armed forces complete power to carry out search operations anywhere, at any time, and to arrest persons without any warrant. It gives the armed forces the authority to ‘shoot at sight’ and kill innocent, unarmed people on grounds of mere suspicion, to carry out fake “encounters”, torture, rape and destruction with impunity. It provides the armed forces complete immunity from prosecution in a court of law.
The people of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland have experienced the violation of their right to life and movement under AFSPA. Far from maintaining peace and order, the Act has been used to instil terror and suppress the people when they come out in defence of their rights. The armed forces commit crimes against the people with impunity because they are granted immunity from any punishment for these crimes. The people of these states have long been demanding the withdrawal of AFSPA from their states. It is a just demand that has the support of all justice loving people of India.