Revision summary
AFSPA 1958 notifies a disturbed area and gives armed forces fire, search, and arrest powers. Section 6 prior sanction is criticised as de facto immunity. States say law and order is theirs, yet the Army overlays policing for years. NPMHR 1997 upheld the Act with review and dos-and-don’ts; EEVFAM 2016 denied encounter immunity. Jeevan Reddy 2005 found the Act too sweeping; validity on paper is not the same as justice on the ground.
Model answer
Introduction
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, lets the Union notify a ‘disturbed area’ and give armed forces wide powers of fire, search, and arrest. Several North-Eastern States, and earlier Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir under a parallel statute, have called it draconian because everyday civil liberty is displaced for years, not days.
Body
What the Act does
- Once an area is declared disturbed, a commissioned officer may fire upon a person acting in contravention of law and order, destroy shelters, arrest without warrant, and search premises on suspicion.
- Section 6 requires prior Central sanction to prosecute a member of the armed forces, which critics read as de facto immunity.
- The notification can last decades; ‘temporary’ emergency powers become the ordinary law of a whole State or district.
Why States call it draconian and unconstitutional
- State governments argue that law and order is a State List subject, yet AFSPA overlays Army doctrine on policing and sidelines the local magistracy and police accountability.
- Enforced disappearances, fake encounters, and sexual violence complaints in Manipur, Nagaland, and Jammu and Kashmir made the Act look like a licence, not a last resort.
- Article 21 (life and personal liberty) and the federal distribution are said to be hollowed when a civilian cannot get a prompt, independent inquiry.
- Civil society and some Assemblies have demanded repeal or a sunset, citing the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee (2005), which called AFSPA too sweeping and recommended a less blunt internal-security law.
The constitutional counter-weight
- In Naga People’s Movement of Human Rights v. Union of India (1997) the Supreme Court upheld AFSPA as constitutionally valid but bound it with safeguards: periodic review of the disturbed-area notification, a list of dos and don’ts, and no blanket shoot-to-kill.
- Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families Association v. Union of India (2016) held that the Army does not enjoy immunity for fake encounters; every alleged extra-judicial killing must be inquired into.
- The honest analytical middle is that the statute can be valid on paper and still intolerable in a district where review never happens and sanction for trial is almost never given.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD A[AFSPA 1958] --> D[Disturbed area notification] D --> P[Fire search arrest powers] D --> I[Section 6 prior sanction] P --> C[State criticism draconian] I --> C C --> SC[NPMHR 1997 valid with safeguards] C --> EJ[EEVFAM 2016 no fake-encounter immunity]
Conclusion
- States’ criticism is federal and rights-based: AFSPA militarises a State subject, lasts too long, and Section 6 blocks remedy. The Supreme Court has not struck it down, but it has refused a licence to kill. The Act remains defensible only where disturbance is real, notification is reviewed, and criminal process is not a dead letter.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
What do you mean by 'Inclusive Growth'? How is inclusive growth helpful in reducing poverty and inequalities in India? Explain.
Next question in the 2019 paper (Q4). View answer →
-
Did the Supreme Court strike down AFSPA as unconstitutional?
No. In 1997 it upheld the Act with safeguards. Later cases refused immunity for fake encounters.
-
Is criticism only from civil society, not from States?
Several State governments and Assemblies in the North-East have also sought withdrawal or repeal where they judge the disturbance over.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2019 · Q5 · UPGS3 · 8 marks
Explain the impact of Green Revolution on small and marginal farmers. -
2019 · Q10 · UPGS3 · 8 marks
What are 'digital rights'? Discuss their objectives. -
2019 · Q19 · UPGS3 · 12 marks
What is cloud computing? Highlight the services rendered by cloud computing and enlist its advantages. -
2018 · Q1 · UPGS3 · 8 marks
Evaluate the effects of globalization on industrial development in India. -
2018 · Q2 · UPGS3 · 8 marks
Describe the targets of energy generation through renewable energy sources in accordance with National Energy Policy 2017 drafted by NITI Aayog. -
2018 · Q3 · UPGS3 · 8 marks
Throw light on the ‘Pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in India’. -
2018 · Q4 · UPGS3 · 8 marks
What is Pradhanmantri Kisan Sampada (SAMPADA) Yojana? Mention its objectives and provisions. -
2018 · Q9 · UPGS3 · 8 marks
Elaborate on the ‘National Defence Council’ of India.
More from this paper
Q1 · UPSC Mains 2019 · UPGS3 · 8 marks
Explain with examples the role of science and technology in enhancing national power.
Science and technology in daily life
National power is military, economic, and legitimacy capacity; S&T now sits in all three. Nuclear and space programmes illustrate strategic autonomy after 1998 and ISRO/NavIC. Agronomy and pharma cut food and health vulnerability. Digital rails and IT enlarge fiscal reach and export skill. Power follows organised use of knowledge, not laboratory prestige alone.
Q2 · UPSC Mains 2019 · UPGS3 · 8 marks
Analyse corruption as a threat to internal security.
Internal security
Internal security needs order, borders, and public consent; corruption attacks all three. Bribes move arms, narcotics, and wanted persons through police and customs posts. Graft in recruitment and procurement creates insiders and hollow equipment. Lost trust in FIR and welfare is recruited by crime and extremist networks. Lokpal, CVC, DBT, e-procurement, and fast uniformed trials are security tools, not only ethics.
Q4 · UPSC Mains 2019 · UPGS3 · 8 marks
What do you mean by 'Inclusive Growth'? How is inclusive growth helpful in reducing poverty and inequalities in India? Explain.
Poverty, unemployment and inclusive growth
Inclusive growth is output the poor, women, SC/ST, and lagging regions actually share. It needs jobs, assets, and public services, not only a higher GDP. Poverty falls when wages, NFSA, DBT, and skills reach the last household. Inequality falls when housing, SHGs, credit, and aspirational districts are targeted. Jobless or enclave growth can raise GDP while Gini and social gaps widen.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.