Nagaland civilian killings: SC seeks Centre’s reply on plea seeking prosecution of 30 Army personnel
On December 4, 2021, the Army’s 21 Para Special Force opened fire at a pick-up van carrying coal miners after apparently mistaking them for insurgents.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centre’s response on a plea filed by the Nagaland government seeking sanction to prosecute 30 Indian Army personnel accused of killing 13 civilians during a military operation in 2021, reported Live Law.
On the evening of December 4, 2021, the Army’s 21 Para Special Force opened fire at a pick-up van carrying coal miners from Tiru to Oting village in Mon district, killing six on board.
They had apparently mistaken the group of workers for insurgents. A crowd of protestors then set fire to vehicles belonging to the Army. The soldiers opened fire again, killing seven more civilians.
In its plea to the Supreme Court, Nagaland has challenged the Centre’s refusal to grant sanction for prosecuting the personnel.
A sanction for prosecution from the Union government is required to initiate any proceeding against security forces for their actions while discharging duties under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
The law gives Army personnel in “disturbed areas” sweeping powers to search, arrest, and open fire if they deem it necessary for “the maintenance of public order”.
The northeastern state contended in its plea that though the Nagaland Police have evidence against the accused soldiers, the Centre has refused sanction for their prosecution.
On Monday, a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and including Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued a notice to the Ministry of Defence seeking its response within six weeks.
Thirty members of the operations team of 21 Para Special Force, including one Army officer, were named by the Nagaland Police in its chargesheet in the case. The police have alleged that “indiscriminate and disproportionate firing” led to the immediate death of six civilians and caused grievous injuries to two more.
In July 2022, the Supreme Court had stayed criminal proceedings against the 30 Army personnel, saying that the state police did not obtain sanctions for prosecution from the Centre as required.
It had passed the order on a plea by the wives of some of the Army personnel who had approached the court demanding that the first information report against their husbands be quashed.
A Court of Inquiry by the Army in 2022 had concluded that the killings were “a case of mistaken identity and error of judgement”.
