EXTENSION OF AFSPA IN MANIPUR HILL AREAS WITHOUT REVIEW VIOLATES SUPREME COURT DECISION
ARMS LOOTING AND RECOVERY
The Home Department of Manipur in a notification of September 26, 2024, extends the imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act to the hill districts of Manipur. The Act is however exempted from the jurisdiction of 19 police Station of the Valley inhabited by the majority Meiteis namely (i) Imphal (ii) Lamphel (iii) City (iv) Singamei (v) Sekmai (vi)Lamsang (vii) Patsoi (viii) Wangoi(ix) Porompat (x) Heingang (xi) Lamlai (xii) Irilbung (xiii) Leimakhong (xiv) Thoubal (xv) Bishnupur (xvi) Nambol (xvii) Moirang (xviii) Kakching and (xix) Jiribam.
The notification also states that “it will be premature to arrive at any conclusion or decision on such a sensitive matter without detailed assessment; thereby not appropriate to review the ‘Disturbed Area’ status of the State at the moment” highlighting that the Manipur government presents no “detailed assessment” of the ground situation. This notification came in violation of the Supreme Court judgment in Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights vs Union of India (1997). The Supreme Court held, “...Keeping in view the fact that the declaration about an area being declared as a disturbed area' can be issued only in a grave situation of law and order as well as the extent of the powers that can be exercised under Section 4 of the Central Act in a disturbed area, we are of the view that a periodic review of the declaration made under Section 3 of the Central Act should be made by the Government/Administration that has issued such declaration before the expiry of period of six months.”
By virtue of the judgment, the Government is obligated to do review since the declaration is intended to be or for a limited duration and a declaration can be issued only when there is grave situation of law and order. However, in such highly sensitive circumstances, the Manipur government, through the recent notification without any review “has decided to maintain status quo on the present disturbed area Status in the State of Manipur excluding the areas falling under the 19 police stations” of the valley districts. The contempt and deliberate violation of the Supreme Court direction is not only a disregard to the necessity grave condition requirement for such declaration of the tribal hill districts as disturbed areas, it also infringed on the rights of the hill tribes as the continuous imposition of AFSPA is done without review. The arbitrary per-incuriam notification of the government of Manipur without proper review for the declaration of the hill areas as disturbed only highlighted the lackadaisical and partisan attitude of the State government towards the rights of the hill tribes.
Manipur governments’ September 2024 notification of the AFSPA removal from valley districts.
The Manipur violence has seen no longterm solution after a year. The State has seen the looting of around 6000 weapons and ammunition from State armouries since May 2023. Among all districts, Imphal East topping the list of the most arms looted from State armouries. The top arms looted were recorded to be SLR Rilfles, INSAS LMG and Rifles, and 0.303 Rifles, leading to the weaponisation of society. The Assam Rifles have recovered a substantial number of arms from Hills and Valley in Manipur.
Out of the 6,000 arms looted, a mere 20 percent are reported to have been recovered. The rest of the weapons, of those recovered, are said to be from elsewhere and local made. The Valley-Based Insurgent Groups are also said to be supported from across the borders, according to Upendra Dwivedi, the Chief of Army Staff. In his own words, the violence has become a “battle of narratives.” The Chief of Army Staff also disputed the official Manipur’s Chief Minister’s Office report of the entry of 900 “anti-national elements” from Myanmar and accusations of the use drone bombs in the Manipur violence as “rumours”.
AFSPA IN MANIPUR
Following the rise of secessionist militancy, the entire State was declared a "'Disturbed Area” in 1980 and the AFSPA was made applicable in the whole State. The Act was withdrawn successively in the previous years from valley districts, following widespread protest by Meitei civil society organisations, including the Meira Paibis. The AFSPA however, continues to be in place in the hill districts.
The removal of AFSA from the valley districts was more or less completed by April, 2023, while renewing the tag of “Disturbed Area” in the tribal Hill districts. When the ethnic violence broke out in May the following month, the absence of AFSPA was used by secessionist groups to hinder security operations. A case in point is at Utham, Imphal East, where 12 cadres of the banned insurgent group Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), were apprehended but had to be released by the Indian army after a standoff with a women-led mob, notably the Meira Paibis. Among those who were released was self-styled Lt Col Moirangthem Tamba alias Uttam, a “mastermind” of a 2015 ambush on a convoy of the 6 Dogra Regiment in which 18 soldiers lost their lives.
The developments led many, including tribal groups, to claim that the selective removal of the AFSPA from the valley districts had underlying intent from the State government. The removal from the valley districts is particularly suspect because there was no substantial basis for the move, while it was still put in place in the tribal hill districts.
Manipur governments’ March 2023 notification of the AFSPA removal from valley districts.
Manipur governments’ September 2024 notification of the AFSPA removal from valley districts.