In almost all cases, the
AFSPA has come in handy for the army to evade prosecution.
The repeal of the
AFSPA had been recommended at the previous UPR cycle in 2012 and, therefore, it was no surprise that it made its appearance during the current review.
I N July last year, the apex court had ruled that despite
AFSPA, the armed forces cannot use " excessive and retaliatory force" in Manipur.
Ravi, one of the former heads of the Intelligence Bureau for the North East is on record for asserting that the
AFSPA is the biggest obstacle to peace in the region.
Manmohan Singh constituted the five-Member Committee to review the provisions of the
AFSPA, the recommendations of them had never been accepted by his Government.
The Prime Minister pointed out that in reality
AFSPA was meant to suppress the political aspirations of the people of Kashmir and their ongoing freedom movement.
iiis) Based on this interest, I would like to explore the following questions in this paper: how does the legal impunity for military personnel accused of sexual violence, lodged within the
AFSPA, become a way to unpack how we might understand the operations of sovereignty in the context of Indian context?
Human rights groups blame
AFSPA for a host of extra-judicial killings and arbitrary detentions by security forces.
The immunity enjoyed by security and armed personnel under
AFSPA, however, has meant that they are not liable for any criminal act that is committed "in the line of duty.
On Wednesday, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju informed the Lok Sabha that the government has no plans to review
AFSPA.
Under
AFSPA, in a aACAydisturbed area', central forces are free to use force, even causing death to perpetrators as per the law.
While defence experts and former army officers strongly opposed
AFSPA repeal from the valley, the politicians, including Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who have been forcing the Centre to withdraw the controversial Act preferred silence on the matter.