Why in news?

Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla held a security review meeting, a day after assuming office, to address the State's law and order situation, particularly in border areas.

He urged the use of legal measures, including the National Security Act, 1980, against troublemakers and emphasized creating employment opportunities for misguided youth. The Governor also directed security agencies to prepare dossiers on key suspects inciting violence.

What’s in today’s article?

• National Security Act, 1980
• NSA against miscreants in Manipur

National Security Act, 1980

• Historical Background
  • Colonial Era Laws:
    • Bengal Regulation III (1818): Empowered the arrest of individuals for criminal intent.
    • Rowlatt Acts (1919): Allowed imprisonment without trial.
• Post-Independence Evolution:
• Preventive Detention Act (1950): Expired in 1969.
• Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA, 1971): Introduced by Indira Gandhi, repealed in 1977 by the Janata Party.
• NSA (1980): Brought back by Indira Gandhi after her return to power, drawing parallels with MISA.
• About
  • The National Security Act (NSA), promulgated on September 23, 1980, is a preventive detention law enacted by the Indian Parliament.
  • It empowers the central or state government to detain individuals to prevent activities jeopardizing national security or disrupting public order.
• Constitutional Basis
  • Article 22(3): Allows preventive detention for state security and public order.
  • Article 22(4): Restricts detention beyond three months unless approved by an advisory board comprising High Court judges.
  • 44th Amendment Act (1978): Reduced the detention period without advisory board approval to two months, though this provision is not yet enforced.
• Key Provisions of NSA
  • Detention can extend up to 12 months, subject to fresh evidence for further extension.
  • No formal charges are necessary during the detention period.
  • Detention is permissible to:
    • Prevent disruptions to public order.
    • Ensure supplies and services essential to the community.
• Grounds for Detention
  • Under Section 3 of the NSA, the Central/State Government has the power to order any person’s detention and detain them if it thinks it is necessary to prevent them from harming:
    • national defence;
    • relationship with foreign countries;
    • national security;
    • public order;
    • essential supplies and services.
• Period of Confinement
• Maximum detention period: 12 months (extendable with fresh evidence).
• Detainees can be held for 10 days without being informed of charges.
• Legal Process: The detainee can appeal to the advisory board but is denied legal representation during the trial.
• Criticism of the NSA
  • Authorities have been accused of using NSA as an extra-judicial power.
  • Detainees are often held without formal charges, leading to concerns about human rights violations.

NSA against miscreants in Manipur

• About the news
  • A day after assuming charge, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla held a security review meeting.
  • In this meeting, the Governor suggested that the State police use legal options such as the National Security Act, 1980.
• Highlighted ceasefire violations
  • The meeting highlighted ceasefire violations by the Pambei faction of the UNLF, a Meitei insurgent group advocating secession, despite its peace pact signed in November 2023.
  • Violence was reported in Yaingangpokpi, a buffer zone between the valley and the hills, where bunkers set up by Kuki-Zo volunteers were dismantled by security forces.
  • In Kangpokpi, protests organized by the Kuki-Zo group turned violent, injuring the SP.
  • Armed cadres of Kuki-Zo insurgent groups, who had signed a Suspension of Operations agreement in 2008, were seen on the streets trying to control the unrest, a violation of ground rules requiring them to stay in designated camps.
• Tensions in buffer zone
  • Buffer zones have been created since June 2023 to prevent clashes between Meiteis (valley) and Kuki-Zos (hills).
  • Intermittent firing between the communities, particularly from bunkers in strategic locations, has fuelled tensions.