The government on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to urgently reconsider its July 2016 verdict which ripped open the cloak of immunity and secrecy provided by the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA) to security forces for deaths caused during encounters in disturbed areas. The Supreme Court had held that “there is no concept of absolute immunity from trial by a criminal court” if an Army man has committed an offence.
The judgment by a Bench led by Justice Madan B. Lokur had held that every death caused by security forces in a disturbed area, even if the victim was a dreaded criminal or a militant or a terrorist or an insurgent, should be thoroughly inquired into to address any allegation of use of excessive or retaliatory force.
A-G’s stance
Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi on Wednesday appeared before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar during the mentioning hour, and apprised the court that the judgment had become a fetter on security forces involved in anti-militancy operations.
“This court ought to have appreciated that the principles of right to self-defence cannot be strictly applied while dealing with militants and terrorist elements in a hostile and unstable terrain. This court ought to have taken into account the complexity and the reality of the conduct of military operations and tactics, especially while combating terrorists,” the curative petition said.
The judgment came on a plea by hundreds of families in Manipur for a probe by Special Ivestigation Team.
