AFSPA extended in Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh: What does the law mean? | Explained
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a fresh notification extending the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 for six months, effective October 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, in specified areas of Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
In Manipur, the entire state continues to be declared a "disturbed area," except for areas falling under 13 police stations across five districts: Imphal, Lamphel, City, Singjamei, Patsoi and Wangoi (Imphal West); Porompat, Heingang and Irilbung (Imphal East); Thoubal; Bishnupur and Nambol; and Kakching.
In Nagaland, the Act applies to the entire area of nine districts — Dimapur, Niuland, Chumoukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek, Peren and Meluri — plus specified police-station jurisdictions in Kohima, Mokokchung, Longleng, Wokha and Zunheboto districts.
In Arunachal Pradesh, the Act applies to Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts, and to areas under the Namsai, Mahadevpur and Chowkham police stations of Namsai district bordering Assam.
The extension continues a long-standing practice of periodic, six-monthly renewal rather than an open-ended declaration, with continuing ethnic violence and insurgent activity in Manipur — including intermittent firing in the Bishnupur-Churachandpur, Imphal East-Kangpokpi-Imphal West and Jiribam fringe areas — cited as the operational rationale.
AFSPA, 1958 — Legal Architecture and Powers Granted
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 empowers the armed forces to act with extraordinary authority in areas officially notified as "disturbed." Its origin traces to the colonial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Ordinance of 1942 (used against the Quit India movement) and the Assam Disturbed Areas Act, 1955; Parliament enacted the AFSPA (initially the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act) in 1958 to deal with the Naga Hills insurgency.
Key Details
- Section 3 empowers the Governor of a state / Administrator of a Union Territory, or the Central Government, to declare the whole or part of a state/UT a "disturbed area."
- Section 4 grants armed forces personnel the power to arrest without a warrant, search premises without a warrant, and use force — including force causing death — where necessary to maintain public order, after due warning.
- Section 5 requires any arrested person to be handed over to the nearest police station "with the least possible delay," along with a report on the circumstances of arrest.
- Section 6 bars any prosecution, suit, or legal proceeding against armed forces personnel for acts done under the Act without prior sanction of the Central Government — this operates alongside Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (now the corresponding provision under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), which similarly requires government sanction to prosecute public servants for official acts.
The September 2026 notification is a routine exercise of the Section 3 power — the "disturbed area" tag is not a one-time or automatic status but must be reviewed and re-notified periodically, which is why fresh orders appear every six months for Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
Naga People's Movement for Human Rights v. Union of India (1998) 2 SCC 109
A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court examined the constitutional validity of AFSPA and the Assam Disturbed Areas Act, 1955, and unanimously upheld both. The Court held Parliament competent to enact AFSPA under Entry 2A (deployment of armed forces in aid of civil power) and Entry 97 of the Union List, read with Article 248.
Key Details
- The Court held that AFSPA does not confer arbitrary power to declare an area "disturbed"; the declaration must be for a limited duration and is subject to periodic review.
- It laid down binding "dos and don'ts" for armed forces personnel operating under the Act — including using minimum force, recording reasons for arrest, and handing over detainees to civil police promptly.
- The judgment clarified that the power to declare an area "disturbed" is not an emergency power under Part XVIII of the Constitution (Articles 352–360); it is an ordinary legislative/executive power exercised under a parliamentary statute.
The periodic six-monthly renewal pattern seen in this notification directly reflects the Supreme Court's 1998 direction that "disturbed area" status cannot be indefinite or automatic and must be reviewed.
The Shrinking Footprint of AFSPA in the Northeast
AFSPA was extended in 1972 (by Act 7 of 1972) to cover the whole of Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, in addition to Assam and Manipur where it already applied. Since then, successive governments have progressively narrowed its geographical footprint rather than repealing it outright.
Key Details
- AFSPA was withdrawn from Mizoram in the 1980s, from Tripura completely with effect from May 27, 2015, and from Meghalaya completely with effect from April 1, 2018.
- Assam's coverage has been reduced sharply over the past decade, now limited to a handful of districts.
- As of April 1, 2025, AFSPA remained in force in only 194 police station areas across 37 districts in four states — Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland — down from its original application across the entire Northeast.
- The strategy has been district-by-district and police-station-by-police-station de-notification based on the security situation, rather than a state-wide repeal.
This notification is a snapshot of that ongoing shrink-and-review process — 13 police stations remain excluded in Manipur even as the rest of the state stays "disturbed," and both Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh see continued but geographically narrower coverage.
Article 356 (President's Rule) vs. the Statutory "Disturbed Area" Mechanism
Manipur has been under President's Rule under Article 356 of the Constitution since February 13, 2025, following the resignation of the state's Chief Minister. This is a distinct constitutional mechanism from the AFSPA "disturbed area" declaration and is useful for distinguishing overlapping but different emergency-adjacent provisions.
Key Details
- Article 355 casts a duty on the Union to protect states against external aggression and internal disturbance; Article 356 allows the President to assume a state's administration if its government cannot be carried on per constitutional provisions, subject to parliamentary approval within two months and renewable in six-month blocks (up to three years, per S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, 1994, safeguards).
- AFSPA's "disturbed area" declaration under Section 3 is a separate, ordinary statutory power — it does not require the same parliamentary ratification process as President's Rule and can apply even where a state government is functioning normally.
- Manipur currently has both: President's Rule (constitutional, Article 356) governing the state administration, and an AFSPA disturbed-area notification (statutory, Section 3) governing armed forces' powers — the two operate independently.
The AFSPA extension in Manipur is being issued during a period when the state also has no elected government, illustrating how internal security law and constitutional emergency provisions can run in parallel without being the same instrument.
- AFSPA extension period: October 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 (six months)
- Manipur: 13 police stations across 5 districts excluded from disturbed-area status; rest of state covered
- Nagaland: 9 full districts + specified police stations in 5 more districts covered
- Arunachal Pradesh: 3 full districts (Tirap, Changlang, Longding) + 3 police stations in Namsai covered
- AFSPA enacted: 1958 (for Assam and Manipur); extended to Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh via Act 7 of 1972
- Full withdrawal timeline: Mizoram (1980s), Tripura (May 27, 2015), Meghalaya (April 1, 2018)
- As of April 2025: AFSPA in force in 194 police stations across 37 districts in 4 states
- Landmark case: Naga People's Movement for Human Rights v. Union of India (1998) 2 SCC 109 — 5-judge bench, upheld AFSPA's constitutionality
- Manipur under President's Rule (Article 356) since February 13, 2025
- Manipur ethnic violence (Meitei-Kuki) ongoing since May 3, 2023