About Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA)

About Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA)

• 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”. 
• When is it applied? It can be applied only after an area has been declared “disturbed” under section 2 of the Act.
• What is a Disturbed area? An area can be considered to be disturbed due to differences or disputes among different religious, racial, language, or regional groups or castes or communities.
• Who declares an area as disturbed?
  • The Central Government, or the Governor of the State or administrator of the Union Territory, can declare the whole or part of the State or Union Territory as a disturbed area.
  • It can be invoked in places where “the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary”.
• 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 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? Apart from Nagaland, the AFSPA is currently in force in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Manipur except Imphal, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Q1) What is a warrant?

Warrants are legal documents issued by courts authorising the police, or other permitted authority, to make an arrest, seize property, conduct a search, or execute a judgment.

Source: Centre To Consider Revoking AFSPA, Pull Back Troops From J&K: Amit Shah