The Narendra Modi government’s line taken by Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi in the Supreme Court that the Army’s actions during anti-terror operations must not be put to judicial scrutiny has little chance of being accepted, but the spirit behind it cannot be dismissed summarily. It is undeniable that terrorists conform to no codes of conduct and are contemptuous of any sense of propriety. They are trained and armed with lethal weapons and handling these desperadoes is no easy matter for any force.
The apex court had in July last year removed the immunity enjoyed by army men under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The government wants that immunity against prosecution to be restored in view of the special nature of the Army’s operations and the need to protect our soldiers. The Attorney-General said if the position maintained by the impugned order continues it may one day be well-nigh impossible to maintain peace and security.
Evidently, the court’s strong pitch against granting blanket immunity to the armed forces is fuelled by the recent surge in violence in Jammu and Kashmir and the Army chief’s warning that stone-pelters obstructing anti-insurgency operations will be treated as terrorists themselves. This, it would appear, is unacceptable to the apex court because it could lead to avoidable excesses against misguided local youth who it feels need to be given a chance to leave the violent path. Perhaps a via media could be found so that while these youth could be deterred strongly, the armed forces must not take too drastic an action against them.
Complete absence of accountability of the security forces could lead to killing or permanent disablement of these young men and women which would alienate the people of Kashmir emotionally from mainstream India. Yet, the message needs to go out that the stone-pelters would not be allowed to disturb peace and public order and to contribute to snuffing out people’s lives. The manner in which the recent two Lok Sabha byelections have been disrupted by sinister forces from across the border in collusion with local elements has underlined the need for them to be reined in.
