Supreme Court Reviews Nagaland Plea on Army Personnel Prosecution

The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and Ministry of Defence on the Nagaland government's challenge to the denial of prosecution sanction for 30 Army personnel accused of killing 13 civilians in a botched 2021 operation. The plea, citing fundamental rights violations, will be heard on September 3.

The Supreme Court has requested responses from the Centre and the Ministry of Defence regarding a plea from the Nagaland government. The plea challenges the denial of sanction to prosecute 30 Army personnel accused of killing 13 civilians in a failed operation to ambush militants in 2021.

A bench composed of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra acknowledged the state's submissions and issued notices to the Centre and the Defence Ministry. The hearing is scheduled for September 3.

Last April, the Central government refused permission to prosecute the Army men involved in the botched ambush in Oting, Mon district. Nagaland's writ petition under Article 32 cites a fundamental rights violation, claiming substantial evidence against the Army personnel. The Centre's denial, allegedly made without due consideration of the investigation's materials, is being challenged.

(With inputs from agencies.)