Army Return Fire?

In the clutch of highly sensitive cases the Supreme Court is currently hearing is one challenging any dilution in the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA. Last August, the court admitted this petition by nearly 700 serving military personnel.

- Sandeep Unnithan

The military frowns at serving personnel approaching civil courts and General Bipin Rawat reacted on predictable lines when he publicly wondered why they were doing it. The petitioners have sought guidelines to protect military personnel from criminal proceedings for actions taken in the line of duty.

The petition admitted by the Supreme Court this August was prompted by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) action to register an FIR against a serving army Major for allegedly killing a 12-year-old boy in Manipur. The case was registered after the SC admitted an inquiry into 1,500 encounter cases in Manipur in 2016 and directed the CBI to register cases in suspicious incidents.