SC to hear plea of armymen challenging FIRs in AFSPA areas

SC to hear plea of armymen challenging FIRs in AFSPA areas

New Delhi, August 14 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to take up on August 20 a petition filed by over 350 army personnel challenging the CBI probe against security forces in disturbed areas.
Challenging dilution of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), the petitioners contended that military operations against insurgency would be adversely affected by such probe against Armymen.
CJI Dipak Misra posted it for hearing on Monday after advocate Aishwarya Bhati, representing the petitioners, told the Bench headed by Justice Misra that “military operations in border areas will suffer” if dilution of AFSPA in disturbed areas was allowed as it exposed security forces to unnecessary risks.
“Protection of soldiers acting in good faith under AFSPA is imperative to protect the soldiers engaged with direct and proxy enemy and insurgency and cannot be diluted without a specific and categoric amendment in law,” the petitioners submitted. The petition comes barely two weeks after CBI director Alok Kumar Verma told the Supreme Court that the agency had filed two chargesheets against 15 security personnel in connection with fake encounter killings and 14 of them had been charged with murder, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.

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