Supreme Court closes 18-year-old Salwa Judum cases; says it’s the joint duty of Centre and state to restore peace and rehabilitate victims of Naxal violence.
New Delhi: On June 3, the Supreme Court of India has officially closed a set of long-standing cases—some dating back 18 years that dealt with alleged human rights violations by security forces and Salwa Judum activists in Chhattisgarh.
These petitions were primarily filed by social activist Nandini Sundar and others, including a contempt petition concerning the state’s alleged non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s 2011 judgment banning the use of Special Police Officers (SPOs) in anti-Naxal operations.
A bench consisting of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma stated that it is now the responsibility of both the state government of Chhattisgarh and the Central Government to work together to restore peace in the region and to rehabilitate the people who have been severely affected by Naxal-related violence over the years.
the bench observed,
“We find that having regard to the situation that has emerged over the decades in the state of Chhattisgarh, it is necessary that specific steps are taken so as to bring about peace and rehabilitation of the areas requiring the attention of the state as well as the central government who would have to act in a coordinated manner,”
This brings closure to a series of cases that were initially filed in the early 2000s, with a major ruling delivered in 2011.
In that landmark judgment, the top court had banned the deployment of SPOs in counter-insurgency operations, declaring it unconstitutional to arm poorly trained tribal youth and involve them in violent conflict.
The 2011 verdict was seen as a strong stance against the controversial Salwa Judum movement—a militia allegedly backed by the state government to combat Maoist insurgents, but which had drawn widespread criticism for excesses and rights violations.
The recent decision to close the contempt petitions and related cases comes after a reassessment of the current ground realities in Chhattisgarh.
The Court acknowledged that while past issues were grave, the present demands forward-looking governance with a focus on peacebuilding.
The Supreme Court emphasized that the focus must now shift toward healing and rehabilitation, and asked the authorities to make genuine efforts to address the problems faced by local communities in Naxal-hit regions.
The Justices reiterated the need for a “coordinated manner” between the state and the Centre in restoring normalcy.
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This order ends a significant legal chapter in India’s judicial intervention in internal security matters, especially those related to insurgency and the role of state-sponsored vigilante groups.
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