Arming people to counter Naxalism may be unconstitutional: SC

New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI) The Indian Government's policy of
arming untrained people as Special Police Officers (SPOs) to
counter Naxalism came under sharp criticism on Monday of the
Supreme Court of India which pulled it up for creating such a
force on the basis of archaic law of British era.
The Centre and Chhattisgarh (a central Indian state)
government faced a tough time to justify the creation and
arming of a force of local tribals before a bench comprising
justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar which raised doubts
about its constitutional validity.
"How can they create SPOs (special police officers)?
How can you arm them and let loose on the people. How can you
permit such a force in the country? You rely on 1861 law
(Police Act) which was made during British time when they
were ruler. We have serious doubts about constitutional
validity of such appointment," the bench said.
The court said it was very easy to arm the people by
giving them Rs 3000 per month, which is a big money in the
region where acute poverty is prevailing.
Further, the Bench said though the government was taking
the plea that SPOs are appointed from the local population as
they are aware of the difficult terrain and other factors, it
was in a way dividing the people of the region.
"It is deeply disturbing. We have serious doubts about
such appointment. It's dangerous that you just recruit them
just because they can fire. It is dividing people one against
the others. We want to know what is the procedure, tenure of
the appointment in such force," the bench said asking the
governments to file their detail report on it by May 2.
It also said it was concerned with the life and liberty
of the SPOs who may also have suffered and "we are of the
considered opinion that this (SPOs) can't go".
In the meantime, Chhattisgarh government agreed to
conduct a probe by a sitting High Court judge into the cases
in which two villages were put on fire and social activist
Swami Agnivesh was attacked in a separate incident by a group
of people allegedly consisting of SPOs and Salwa Judum
volunteers when he was visiting a Naxal region near Dantewada.
The court passed the order while hearing a petition
against the existence of Salwa Judum in Naxal-hit regions
of the state to fight the Maoists.
The petition had been filed by sociologist Nandini
Sundar, historian Ramchandra Guha, former bureaucrat E A S
Sarma and others seeking a direction to the state government
to refrain from allegedly supporting Salwa Judum.

The apex court has been monitoring the steps taken by the
state government to disband Salwa Judum and also the measures
taken by it for the relief and rehabilitation of the tribals
who were caught in the crossfire between the Maoists and the
security forces.
It has also asked the authorities to free schools and
ashrams from the occupation of the security forces.
Earlier in February 2009 also, the court had questioned
on how the government could arm common people or those
associated with Salwa Judum, a people's movement to combat
Maoists in Chhattisgarh.