India: Centre can use Spl Police Officers to combat insurgents, Supreme Court

New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) In a major relief to India's governments at the Centre and in the states, the Supreme Court today clarified that they were free to use the services of Special Police Officers (SPOs) in fighting insurgent groups in the country, except in the central Indian state of Chattisgarh. A bench of justices Altamas Kabir and S S Nijjar of the apex Indian court granted the permission in a modification application moved by the Centre, against the court 's July 5 judgement directing the Chattisgarh Government and Centre against using the services of the SPOs to combat the left extremist Maoist menace. Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman and counsel Siddharth Dave appearing for the Indian Government told the bench that the modification was necessary as "otherwise it would cause serious trouble in undertaking the anti-insurgency operations in other parts of the country". The counsel submitted that the order restraining the Centre from extending any form of support to the SPOs should be confined only to Chattisgarh as the public interest litigation was confined only to that state, and the court had not adverted to the general role of SPOs in the country. Concurring with the arguments, the bench said it "had no objection to allow the application" of the Centre. In its last judgement, the apex court had castigated both the Chattisgarh government and the Centre for using the SPOs locally known as "Salwa Judum" and "Koya Commandos" to fight the Maoists saying the Government had abdicated its Constitutional duty by raising such illegal force. The bench had also said: "It is also equally clear to us that in this policy, of using local youth, jointly devised by the Union and the States facing Maoist insurgency, as implemented in the State of Chhattisgarh, the young tribals have literally become canon fodder in the killing fields of Dantewada and other districts of Chhattisgarh." PTI