AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act)

A law from 1958 still shapes daily life across parts of India’s Northeast. It gives soldiers powers no ordinary police officer has. This article covers AFSPA and where it still applies.

1Chapter 1: What AFSPA Does

Must Know

Timeline

• 22 May 1958: an ordinance giving the armed forces special powers in Assam and Manipur comes into force.
• 11 September 1958: Parliament passes the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.
• 27 November 1997: the Supreme Court upholds AFSPA’s constitutional validity in Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights v. Union of India.

The core powers

• The Act gives the armed forces special powers in areas declared “disturbed”.
• These include arrest without a warrant.
• They include entering and searching premises.
• They include using force, including firing, against anyone acting against law and order.

The 1997 verdict

• The Court found the Act itself valid.
• But it also read in real safeguards.
• One key safeguard: forces must hand arrested persons to the police “with the least possible delay”.
• See The Supreme Court.

Where it applies

• AFSPA remains in force across most of Manipur, and parts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Assam’s coverage has shrunk to three districts, down from the whole state.
• Extensions are typically renewed every six months.
• So the government must reassess “disturbed area” status regularly.
• Each region’s coverage is a live, renewable decision, not a permanent one.

2Chapter 2: Withdrawal and Reform

Good to Know

Assam’s shrinking footprint

• In Assam, the Home Ministry has withdrawn AFSPA district by district.
• It was lifted from Dibrugarh, leaving three districts covered: Tinsukia, Sivasagar and Charaideo.
• See Assam: State Profile.

The Manorama case and the Jeevan Reddy Committee

• After the 2004 death of Thangjam Manorama Devi in custody in Manipur, the government set up a review committee.
• Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy headed the five-member committee, appointed in November 2004.
• Its June 2005 report recommended repealing AFSPA entirely.
• It suggested folding the needed powers into the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
• The government never acted on this.

Why Manipur stays covered

• Manipur has seen ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities since May 2023.
• That conflict has killed over 260 people.
• It is the main reason Manipur’s coverage has not shrunk like Assam’s. (Source: The Tribune.)

3Chapter 3: The Impunity Debate

Great to Know

Two views

• Security forces argue AFSPA is essential in active insurgency zones.
• Critics argue its immunity provisions enable impunity for abuses.
• The Jeevan Reddy Committee tried and failed to resolve this tension.

District by district, not national

• The gradual withdrawal pattern reflects how “disturbed area” status is assessed locally.
• Each district’s status is tied to its own security situation.

A temporary law, six decades on

• AFSPA shows how an area-specific emergency measure can remain in force for over six decades.
• Its territorial reach keeps shifting even as the law stays fundamentally unchanged.

Related reading

• The Sixth Schedule and Inner Line Permit
• Right to Privacy and the Puttaswamy Judgment
• Assam Rifles

4Chapter 4: Past Papers

Exam Point of View

The pattern examiners test

• Exams test which state had AFSPA fully removed, versus merely reduced.
• “Fully removed” and “restricted to a few police stations” are different outcomes.
• Meghalaya is the one state with AFSPA completely gone.
• Nagaland, Arunachal and Assam are all reduced, not removed.

CAPF (ACs) 2018: Meghalaya

• The question asked which state had AFSPA completely removed.
• The answer: Meghalaya.
• The Home Ministry withdrew it from all of Meghalaya from 1 April 2018, citing a sharp drop in insurgency.
• Arunachal Pradesh was reduced in the same order, not fully cleared.
• (Source: CAPF (ACs) 2018, Q96.)

CDS (II) 2017: Irom Sharmila’s party

• The question asked which party Irom Sharmila launched.
• The answer: the People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance.
• She launched it in October 2016, months after ending her 16-year hunger strike against AFSPA.
• She lost badly contesting Thoubal in 2017 and later left electoral politics.
• (Source: CDS (II) 2017, Q47.)

5Chapter 5: Current Affairs

Current Affairs

The extension of October 2026

• [Policy] On 25 September 2026, the Centre extended AFSPA in “disturbed areas” of Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. The extension runs for six months from 1 October 2026. (Source: Akashvani News.)
• In Manipur, it covers the whole state except areas under 13 police stations. (Source: Akashvani News.)
• In Nagaland, it covers nine districts: Dimapur, Niuland, Chumoukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek, Peren and Meluri. (Source: Akashvani News.)
• In Arunachal Pradesh, it covers Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts. It also covers the Namsai, Mahadevpur and Chowkham police-station areas of Namsai district, on the Assam border. (Source: Akashvani News.)

The extension of October 2025

• On 27 September 2025, the Home Ministry extended AFSPA for another six months, effective 1 October 2025. (Source: The Tribune.)
• It covers all of Manipur outside 13 named police-station areas.
• It covers nine districts of Nagaland plus parts of five more.
• It covers three districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Because of the six-month cycle, later notifications follow it. Always check the latest Home Ministry notification.

Quick Q&A

• AFSPA Act year? 1958.
• SC verdict date? 27 Nov 1997.
• Fully cleared state? Meghalaya.
• Jeevan Reddy report? June 2005.
• Sharmila hunger strike? 16 years.