We have all along been saying that the government of India is creating a war-like situation in the northeast and Manipur in particular with the prolonged imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of human rights violations under the Act has percolated down to the state forces igniting a killing spree of militant suspects at staged encounters. There was in fact no one in the establishment to lend ears to these voices of concern. Now we are glad the apex court of the court has chosen to lead the chorus against state sponsored violence. Fifteen years ago, the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutional validity of AFSPA although with a rider of several dos and don’ts to the security forces. Allow us to recall a recent observation by an UN Special Rapporteur Christof Heyns which said, “It is therefore difficult to understand how the Supreme Court, which has been so progressive in other areas, also concerning the right to life, could have ruled in 1997 that AFSPA did not violate the Constitution – although they tried, seemingly with little success, to mitigate its Impact by issuing guidelines on how it is to be implemented.” Christof Heyns and another Special Rapporteur Margaret Sekaggya had remarked that AFSPA has no place in a democracy and that it should be scrapped. The air of impunity created by AFSPA by shielding perpetrators of human rights violations from prosecution for years had in fact emboldened members of the state forces to play the role of judge cum executioner in the fight against insurgency. While they are not empowered by the Act, the state forces were encouraged by the state to finish off militants at will. The state instead of prosecuting the violators of human rights had chosen to recommend gallantry awards for the last few years. And such state patronage of staged killings had so emboldened the police commandos that their arrogance led to the 2009 July 23 ‘fake encounter’ in the busy Imphal market area in broad daylight. Had it not been for the Tehelka photographs and the widespread public agitation and the subsequent CBI investigation, the incident would have been long forgotten. But the results of the CBI investigation led to restoration of public confidence and rights activists in the fight against inhuman laws and human rights violations. But, the fight is far from over. There are loopholes in the system and the state has been putting in every effort to circumvent the system to their advantage. One stark example was the Ibobi Singh-led Congress government`s attempt to rely on the stand taken in the past by Maharashtra and Gujarat governments in requesting the judiciary to understand ‘the dual need of protecting human rights as well as not demoralizing the law enforcers’ while filing its response to the Supreme Court notice. The attitude and mindset of the state left the Supreme Court aghast. It deeply disturbed the apex court. The court also did not appreciate Manipur`s stand that the National Human Rights Commission had not till date faulted the state in connection with the alleged extra-judicial killings and ridiculed the government`s attempt to brush aside the allegations in three PILs, two on extra-judicial killings and one on misuse of Armed Forces Special Power Act and plea for its withdrawal. The petitioners from the state had requested the court to set up a Special Investigation Team to inquire into the extra-judicial killings in the state. Another petition by a former Health Director Dr Suresh Singh had alleged that continuance of AFSPA had led to a spurt in extra-judicial killings and sought its withdrawal from Manipur in the apex court. The petition had listed 1,528 people killed in fake encounters since 1979. Now, it is for the Supreme Court to right the injustice of the special laws and the system which facilitates human rights violations with impunity and the rule of the high and mighty.
