Special Powers under AFSPA, 1958

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 authorises specified armed-forces personnel to exercise exceptional coercive powers within a formally declared disturbed area. These are conditional statutory powers used in aid of civil power, not an unrestricted replacement of ordinary civil administration.

When the powers become available

Under Section 3, the Governor or Administrator, or the Central Government, may notify the whole or part of a state or Union territory as disturbed when armed forces are considered necessary in aid of civil power.

• The powers may be exercised by a commissioned officer, warrant officer, non-commissioned officer or a person of equivalent rank in the armed forces.

Operational powers in a disturbed area

Under Section 4, the specified personnel may exercise the following powers, subject to the conditions stated in the Act.

• They may, after giving due warning, use force even to the causing of death when necessary for maintaining public order against persons violating applicable prohibitions on assemblies of five or more persons or on carrying weapons, firearms, ammunition or explosives.
• They may destroy arms dumps, fortified positions, training camps and hideouts from which armed attacks are made, attempted or likely to be made.
• They may arrest without warrant a person who has committed, or is reasonably suspected of having committed or being about to commit, a cognizable offence, using necessary force.
• They may enter and search without warrant premises to make such arrests or recover wrongfully confined persons, suspected stolen property, or unlawfully kept arms, ammunition and explosives.

Procedural duties and legal protection

• Under Section 5, an arrested person must be handed over to the officer in charge of the nearest police station with the least possible delay, along with a report of the circumstances.
• Under Section 6, prosecution, suit or other legal proceeding for acts done or purportedly done under the Act requires the previous sanction of the Central Government.