Armed Forces in Aid of Civil Power

Deployment of the armed forces in aid of civil power means using Union armed forces to assist the ordinary civil administration when civilian agencies cannot adequately manage a serious situation. The forces supplement rather than replace civilian government, while retaining their military chain of command and acting under the applicable legal mandate.

Constitutional setting

Public order and police ordinarily belong to the States, but deployment of Union forces in aid of civil power falls within Union List Entry 2A of the Seventh Schedule. Article 355 places a duty on the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure constitutional government.

• Such deployment does not by itself amount to a national emergency, President's Rule, or suspension of civilian government.
• The arrangement reflects both State responsibility for public order and Union responsibility concerning its armed forces.

How assistance operates

Civil authorities may seek military assistance when police and other civilian resources are insufficient, particularly during grave public disorder or internal-security emergencies. Under Section 149 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the senior Executive Magistrate present may require armed forces to disperse an unlawful assembly when public security demands it.

• The civil authority determines the public-order objective, while the military commander decides the operational manner of carrying it out.
• The armed forces must use as little force and cause as little injury as is consistent with dispersing the assembly and protecting persons and property.
• Military assistance may also include protection of vital installations, logistical support, rescue, evacuation, and restoration of essential access.

Distinction from special powers

Deployment in aid of civil power does not automatically confer extraordinary coercive powers. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 separately authorises specified powers in an area declared disturbed under Section 3, subject to the Act and judicial review.

• AFSPA is therefore a special statutory framework, not a synonym for every deployment of armed forces in support of civil authorities.
• Civilian institutions, ordinary law, and constitutional safeguards continue to operate during such deployment.