Prosecution of a person acting under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 requires the previous sanction of which authority?
- A.The Governor of the State
- B.The High Court of the State
- C.The Central Government
- D.The State Government
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, the Central Government. Section 6 of AFSPA provides that no prosecution, suit or other legal proceeding shall be instituted against any person in respect of anything done in exercise of the powers conferred by the Act, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government. This single clause is the reason the Act has been so heavily litigated. Option A is wrong because the Governor's role under the Act is confined to declaring a disturbed area under Section 3. Option D is wrong because the State Government has no power to sanction or refuse such a prosecution, even though public order is a State subject under Entry 1 of the State List. Option B is wrong because a High Court hears challenges to action taken under the Act but does not grant the sanction that Section 6 demands; in the Naga People's Movement of Human Rights case of 1997 the Supreme Court upheld the Act while laying down guidelines for the use of these powers.
Read the full article: Internal Security Laws: UAPA, AFSPA, NSA and NIA Notes
Practice Questions
View allThe Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was enacted in which year?
- A.1963
- B.1967
- C.1980
- D.2008
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The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was passed by Parliament in 1967 on the recommendation of the National Integration Council, to provide for the banning of unlawful associations and for punishing activity directed against the sovereignty and integrity of India.
Read the full explanation →Which amendment to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act allowed the Central Government to designate an individual as a terrorist?
- A.The amendment of 2004
- B.The amendment of 2008
- C.The amendment of 2012
- D.The amendment of 2019
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Until then the UAPA allowed the Government to notify only an organisation as a terrorist organisation; the UAPA (Amendment) Act, 2019 added the power to notify an individual as a terrorist and to enter that name in the Fourth Schedule of the Act.
Read the full explanation →Under which section of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 is an area declared to be a disturbed area?
- A.Section 2
- B.Section 3
- C.Section 4
- D.Section 6
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Section 3 of AFSPA empowers the Governor of a State, the administrator of a Union Territory or the Central Government to declare the whole or a part of a State or Union Territory to be a disturbed area, and that declaration is the condition on which every other power in…
Read the full explanation →What is the maximum period for which a person may be detained under the National Security Act, 1980?
- A.Three months
- B.Six months
- C.Twelve months
- D.Twenty-four months
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The National Security Act, 1980 permits preventive detention for a maximum of twelve months from the date of detention, though the detaining authority may order a shorter period and extend it within that ceiling.
Read the full explanation →Under which provision of the Constitution is preventive detention beyond three months permitted only when an Advisory Board reports that there is sufficient cause for it?
- A.Article 20(3)
- B.Article 21
- C.Article 22(4)
- D.Article 32
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Article 22(4) says that no law providing for preventive detention shall authorise detention for longer than three months unless an Advisory Board, consisting of persons qualified to be judges of a High Court, has reported before the expiry of that period that there is sufficient cause for the detention.
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