Express View on Oting killings case in Nagaland: A betrayal of the promise of justice

Source: The post is based on the following articles

“Express View on Oting killings case in Nagaland: A betrayal of the promise of justice” published in the Indian Express on 18th April 2023.

“Promoting impunity – Denial of nod to prosecute Army men in Oting massacre is disconcerting” published in The Hindu on 18th April 2023.

Syllabus: GS – 3: Security challenges and their management in border areas.

Relevance: About non-prosecution of soldiers.

News: Recently, the defence ministry has refused sanction for the prosecution of 30 army commandos allegedly responsible for the Oting incident.

About the Oting incident

In 2021, a commando unit allegedly opened fire and killed six coal miners in a counter-insurgency operation in Oting, Nagaland.

Following that, the Nagaland government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident. The Army announced its own investigation and promised action against the guilty, irrespective of their rank.

The SIT indicted 30 members of the Army unit involved in the operation and filed a chargesheet in 2022. The team sought sanction for prosecution from the Defence Ministry’s Department of Military Affairs. However, the legal process was held up since the Centre had to sanction the prosecution of the indicted Army personnel.

Note: Prior sanction to prosecute Army personnel is necessary under Section 6 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).

How does the non-prosecution of soldiers erode the Centre’s reputation?

It is nearly impossible to fix accountability when personnel are involved in criminal acts: These aspects have been flagged repeatedly in Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Assam and Nagaland, which have experienced the worst of AFSPA in operation.

Create a misconception that AFSPA is used to promote impunity: The non-prosecution might create a view that the Centre is unable or unwilling to do anything about impunity in insurgency-hit States.

What should be done?

The government must demonstrate its commitment to peace in the region and justice for the victims by either granting sanction for their prosecution, or taking exemplary action based on the findings of the military court of inquiry.