Context- Recently Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has declared the entire State of Nagaland as a “disturbed area” for six more months, under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA).

• As per MHA, the area comprising the whole of State of Nagaland is in a disturbed and dangerous condition and the use of armed forces in aid of civilian power is necessary.

About AFSPA or The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act

• The AFSPA or The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is an Act passed by the Parliament which gives special powers to the Armed Forces in the disturbed areas. It first came into existence in 1958 to deal with the Naga rebellion in the States of Assam and Manipur.
• The decision to involve the Armed Forces was taken by the Central government as the police and the paramilitary forces failed to control the internal disturbances there. Subsequently, the Act was extended to the other North Eastern States as well.
• The AFSPA was enforced in the State of Punjab in 1983 to quell the Khalistan movement. It was eventually withdrawn in 1997 after improvement of the security situation there. The Act came into force in Jammu & Kashmir in 1990 after the internal security situation worsened in the valley due to the terrorist activities of the Pakistan-backed militants. It has become an effective means to control militancy and maintain law and order

What is a “disturbed area” and who has the power to declare it?

• A disturbed area is one which is declared by notification under Section 3 of the AFSPA.
• An area can be disturbed due to differences or disputes between members of different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.
• 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. A suitable notification would have to be made in the Official Gazette.
• As per Section 3, it can be invoked in places where “the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary”.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs would usually enforce this Act where necessary, but there have been exceptions where the Centre decided to forego its power and leave the decision to the State governments.
• Once declared ‘disturbed’, the region is maintained as disturbed for a period of three months straight, according to The Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976. The government of the state can suggest whether the Act is required in the state or not

Special Powers of the armed forces

.—Any commissioned officer, warrant officer, non-commissioned officer or any other person of equivalent rank in the armed forces may, in a disturbed area,—

• if he is of opinion that it is necessary so to do for the maintenance of public order, after giving such due warning as he may consider necessary, fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death, against any person who is acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area prohibiting the assembly of five or more persons or the carrying of weapons or of things capable of being used as weapons or of fire-arms, ammunition or explosive substances;
• if he is of opinion that it is necessary so to do, destroy any arms dump, prepared or fortified position or shelter from which armed attacks are made or are likely to be made or are attempted to be made, or any structure used as a training camp for armed volunteers or utilised as a hide-out by armed gangs or absconders wanted for any offence;
• arrest, without warrant, any person who has committed a cognizable offence or against whom a reasonable suspicion exists that he has committed or is about to commit a cognizable offence and may use such force as may be necessary to effect the arrest;
• enter and search without warrant any premises to make any such arrest as aforesaid or to recover any person believed to be wrongfully restrained or confined or any property reasonably suspected to be stolen property or any arms, ammunition or explosive substances believed to be unlawfully kept in such premises, and may for that purpose use such force as may be necessary. 
• Arrested persons to be made over to the police.—Any person arrested and taken into custody under this Act shall be made over to the officer in charge of the nearest police station with the least possible delay, together with a report of the circumstances occasioning the arrest.
• Protection to persons acting under Act.—No prosecution, suit or other legal proceeding shall be instituted, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government, against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of the powers conferred by this Act.

States under AFSPA, Act

• It is effective in the whole of Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (excluding seven assembly constituencies of Imphal) and parts of Arunachal Pradesh.
• In Arunachal Pradesh, the impact of AFSPA has been reduced to eight police stations