India Supreme Court directs central government to answer state petition to prosecute soldiers News
Subhashish Panigrahi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
India Supreme Court directs central government to answer state petition to prosecute soldiers

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud issued a six-week notice to the Union Government and the Ministry of Defence on Monday to respond to a writ petition filed by the State of Nagaland seeking approval to prosecute 30 Indian Army personnel implicated in the deaths of 13 civilians.

The petition argues that the Centre’s refusal to sanction prosecution under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (“AFSPA”) of 1958 is arbitrary and against public interest as the state police possess compelling evidence against the army personnel involved. 

The civilians were killed during a military operation in Nagaland’s Mon district on December 4, 2021  when army personnel allegedly fired upon a pickup truck carrying miners in Oting village without challenging or identifying the occupants. However, the Army personnel claimed they had positively identified the occupants as militants. This initial shooting resulted in the deaths of six civilians and sparked a violent clash between local villagers and the Army, leading to the deaths of seven additional civilians and one soldier.

The state police registered complaints under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including murder and criminal conspiracy. Following the incident, the Nagaland Assembly unanimously resolved to demand the repeal of AFSPA from the North Eastern part of the country, particularly from Nagaland.

This case has drawn significant attention to the ongoing debate over AFSPA and its implications in conflict-prone areas.

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