AFSPA

About:

• AFSPA is imposed in areas declared as disturbed under section 2 of the act.
  
  
• Section 3 of the AFSPA Act empowers the ‘Governor’ of the state or Union territory to issue an official notification on The Gazette of India, following which the centre has the authority to send in armed forces for civilian aid. Once declared ‘disturbed’, the region has to maintain status quo for a minimum of three months.
  
  
• The ‘special powers’ of armed forces under Section 4 are:
  • ‘Power to use force, including open fire’ at an individual if he violates laws which prohibit (a) the assembly of five or more persons; or (b) carrying of weapons.
    
    
  • ‘power to arrest’ without a warrant; (Under section 5 the Armed Forces have to hand over the arrested person to the nearest Police Station “with the least possible delay”.
    
    
  • ‘power to seize and search’ without any warrant any premise.
    
    
  
  
  
• These armed forces are immune from prosecution unless Union Government provides sanction to the prosecuting agencies,
  
  

AFSPA in Nagaland:

• to govt. the recent decision has been taken as killings, loot and extortion have been going on in various parts of the State which necessitated the action.
  
  
• The AFSPA has been in force in Nagaland for several decades. It has not been withdrawn even after a framework agreement was signed in August 2015, by the Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah and government of India.