On December 4, 2021, an Army team reportedly opened fire on a truck carrying miners in Oting village, Nagaland, mistakenly identifying them as militants. This incident resulted in the deaths of six civilians.
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NEW DELHI: On Tuesday (17th Sept), the Supreme Court dismissed the criminal proceedings against Army personnel involved in the killing of 13 civilians during a 2021 operation in Nagaland’s Mon district.
“The proceedings in the contested FIRs will be closed. However, if authorization is granted, it can proceed to its final resolution. Regarding disciplinary action, we have stated that the Armed Forces may take appropriate measures,”
the Supreme Court stated.
Background
On the evening of December 4, 2021, the 21 Para Special Force of the Army mistakenly opened fire on a pick-up van carrying coal miners from Tiru to Oting village in Mon district, killing six people. The soldiers had misidentified the miners as insurgents. In response to the ensuing protests and vehicle burnings by demonstrators, the soldiers fired again, resulting in seven more civilian deaths.
Following the incident, seven additional civilians were killed when security forces allegedly fired upon the area in response to the ensuing violence.
The Nagaland Police had filed a chargesheet against at least 30 members of the 21 Para Special Force, including two subedars, eight havildars, four naiks, six lance naiks, and nine paratroopers. The chargesheet accuses the soldiers of murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
On December 5, the State Crime Police Station re-registered the case against unidentified Indian Army personnel under various IPC sections and assigned the investigation to a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Earlier, the Supreme Court requested a response from the Centre regarding a plea filed by the Nagaland government, seeking authorization to prosecute 30 Indian Army personnel accused of killing 13 civilians during a military operation in 2021.
The Nagaland government’s plea challenges the Centre’s refusal to grant sanction for prosecuting the personnel. Such authorization is required under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to initiate legal proceedings against security forces for actions taken during duty in “disturbed areas,” where the law grants them broad powers to maintain public order.
Despite evidence provided by the Nagaland Police, the Centre has denied sanction for prosecution. On Monday, a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued a notice to the Ministry of Defence, requesting a response within six weeks.
The chargesheet filed by the Nagaland Police named 30 members of the 21 Para Special Force, including one officer, alleging that their “indiscriminate and disproportionate firing” resulted in the deaths of six civilians and severe injuries to two others.
In July 2022, the Supreme Court had stayed the criminal proceedings against these Army personnel, noting that the state police had not secured the necessary sanction from the Centre. This decision followed a plea by the wives of some of the Army personnel, who sought to have the FIR against their husbands dismissed.
An Army Court of Inquiry in 2022 had concluded that the killings were a result of “mistaken identity and error of judgment.”
