Manipur Encounter Killings: 355 Army personnel approach SC claiming dilution of AFSPA

A petition filed by three hundred and fifty five serving Army officials was mentioned before Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra today against the “dilution of provisions of AFSPA“..The Court has agreed to hear the case on Monday, August 20..The petitioners pray that the protection given to the Army personnel under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) cannot be diluted without a specific amendment to the Act..Advocate Aishwarya Bhati, representing the petitioners, mentioned the matter before the Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice AM Khanwilkar..It is stated in the petition that these 355 soldiers and officers are forced to approach the Apex Court in light of the fact that the investigation against the armed forces personnel in Manipur was “forced to speed up“, which renders the forces “vulnerable” and “demoralised“..“The manner in which the ongoing enquiry is being forced to speed up by the court and charge sheets to be filed up in a time-bound manner without following the prescribed procedure as per the CBI manual, reflects the extremely vulnerable state for the officers and troops who were engaged in these operations. The garb of protection of human rights should not be taken as a shield to protect the persons involved in the terrorist act.”.A case filed by the Extra-Judicial Execution Victims Families Association had prompted the Court to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into allegations that the Army and other security forces had carried out over 1500 extra-judicial killings in Manipur..The instant petition comes just a few days after the Supreme Court Bench of Justices Madan Lokur and UU Lalit pulled up the CBI for a snail-paced investigation into the alleged fake encounters in Manipur. The Bench had directed the CBI to carry out the said investigation in a time-bound manner..The petition prays for the following, among others:.Guidelines be laid down for the protection of bona fide actions of the soldiers against AFSPA so that criminal proceedings are not initiated against them.The soldiers serving in disturbed areas are protected from “motivated and indiscriminate” FIRs.The provisions protecting soldiers under AFSPA cannot be diluted without specific amendment to the law itselfNo prosecution or suit is filed against the bona fide soldiers without prior sanction from the Central governmentAny investigation in the criminality or abuse of power carried out without the aid, advice or guidance of persons who understand the military operations be deemed unconstitutional and illegalAn investigation against those individuals or organisations be carried out who “targeted” soldiers by launching “mischievous complaints” against themNo “arbitrary exercises” of executive nature be carried out against the soldiersAppropriate compensation is provided to those soldiers who are “affected” by the “malafide criminal proceedings”

Manipur Encounter Killings: 355 Army personnel approach SC claiming dilution of AFSPA

Shruti Mahajan

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