Yet another....
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: January 25 2013 -

Boosting the morale of the social groups and activists who have been demanding repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958, Justice Verma Committee has not only recommended amendments to the Army Act, which has been denounced by many as 'draconian', but also questioned its continuance in conflict zones like Jammu & Kashmir and Northeastern States including Manipur where the extreme clauses in the law have led to misuse of the power given to the para-military forces in performance of their duties.

Although the three-member Committee headed by former Chief Justice of India Jagdish Sharan Verma as Chairperson with former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court Leila Seth and former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramaniam as members was set up by the Government of India to suggest tougher laws for crimes against women in the aftermath of the brutal gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus in the national capital on Dec 16, 2012, the 631-page report of the Committee, which was submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs on January 23, has taken strong cognizance of sexual crimes on women committed by personnel of Armed Forces in conflict areas and sought review of continuance of AFSPA and AFSPA-like legal protocols in internal conflict areas "as soon as possible" and maintained that "sexual offences by armed forces and uniformed men in conflict areas should be brought under ordinary criminal law."

Understandably, the recommendation for amendments to AFSPA has been made in the context of extending legal protection to women in conflict areas as the Committee observed, "This is necessary for determining the propriety of resorting to this legislation in the area(s) concerned; and jurisdictional issues must be resolved immediately and simple procedural protocols put in place to avoid situations where police refuse or refrain from registering cases against paramilitary personnel."

But what must have come as a real shot in the arm of anti-AFSPA campaigners all over the globe may be the recommendation of the Committee for amendments to be made with regard to Section 6 of AFSPA which says, "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".

Even though every section of the Act is nothing but promotion of a de-facto state of abrogation of fundamental rights of the citizens in areas declared as 'disturbed', it is this Section 6 of AFSPA that overruns the fundamental tenets of modern jurisprudence by ensuring immunity to personnel of Armed Forces from any legal accountability for their acts of omission.

Now that, as they say, the ball is in the court of Government of India, can we expect speedy implementation of the recommendations in tandem with the urgency shown by the Government in constituting the Committee?

Or, are they going to face the same fate like the numerous recommendations of expert bodies and judiciary decisions in the past that have failed to see the light of the day?