SC notice to Centre over denial of sanction to try Army personnel

New Delhi, July 16

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The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre and the Ministry of Defence on the Nagaland Government’s petition challenging the denial of sanction to prosecute 30 Army personnel accused of killing 13 civilians in an operation to ambush militants in the state in 2021.

A three-judge Bench, led by CJI DY Chandrachud, on Monday asked the Centre and the Union Ministry of Defence to respond to the petition and posted the matter for hearing on September 3. Earlier, acting on a petition filed by the wives of the accused Army officers, the court had in July 2022 stayed the prosecution of the Army personnel belonging to special forces.

They had claimed that their husbands were being prosecuted without the state obtaining mandatory sanction for their prosecution. The Centre had in April 2023 denied sanction to prosecute the personnel allegedly involved in the botched-up operation in Nagaland’s Mon district.