Welcoming the revocation of AFSPA from various parts of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur by the Centre, Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families' Association, Manipur (EEVFAM) and Human Rights Alert (HRA) have suggested the Centre that the next logical step would be to grant prosecution sanction of the security personnel found to be involved in the extrajudicial killing of civilians.
EEVFAM and HRA, in a joint release, recalled the petition filed before the Supreme Court seeking justice for 1,528 documented victims of extrajudicial executions carried out from 1979 to 2012 in Manipur under the shadow of AFSPA.
A SIT of the CBI was directed to investigate cases where there is already an earlier prima facie finding, it said, adding CBI registered 39 FIRs, out of which 30 final reports have been submitted to the respective court in Manipur.
Pointing out that when the alleged perpetrators are police personnel, the state government has granted prosecution sanction and the trials are going on, it said, however, when the perpetrators are personnel of the central armed forces, the Home Ministry has passed orders denying prosecution sanctions under section 6 of AFSPA.
Six such cases have been submitted to the court so far, it added.
"When sufficient evidence of the extrajudicial killing is laid out before the courts by none other than the premier investigating agency of the country, and that too under the direction of the apex court, the Centre is insisting to halt all further legal proceedings," the release mentioned.
The chief judicial magistrate of Imphal West has referred the matter to the High Court of Manipur in February 2021 to ascertain on how to proceed with the cases but with little progress in the High Court, the victims seeking justice are left high and dry, it added.
