Bgmgf Final File.docx

Introduction: Definition: “The amount of violations of human rights in a country is always an inverse function of the amount of complaints about human rights violations heard from there. The greater the number of complaints being aired, the better protected are human rights in that country.” – Daniel Patrick Moynihan1 “Human rights2” means the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed under the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforced by courts in India.” All human beings are born with some unalienable rights like life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The importance of these natural rights can be found in the fact that these are fundamental for their proper existence and no other rights can be enjoyed without the presence of rights to life and liberty.

For having the knowledge of the procedure of State Human Rights Commission, firstly we need to get familiar with the strength, the evolution, the functions and the limitations of the Commission. State Human Rights Commission is a Quasi- Judicial Body, which works for the protection of the Human Rights as prescribed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 16, 1966.

Evolution of State Human Rights Commission:3 State Human Right Commissions are constituted to enquire into Complaints, which is one of the major activities of State Human Right Commissions. As the nomenclature is indicating, Human Right Commissions are meant to prevent violations of Human Rights, which are prescribed under Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1

Definition by Daniel Patrick Moynihan Meaning of Human Rights 3 Evolution of SHRC 2

Page 1

The State Human Rights Commission is a Legislative body works for the purpose of redressal of the grievances arising out of violations of human rights. The Human Rights Protection Act, 1993 facilitates that State Government may constitute State Human Rights Commission to exercise the power conferred upon, and perform functions assigned to it under the Act. State Human Rights Commissions work under the supervision of National Human Rights Commission on different themes i.e. Human Rights, Custodial deaths, Police excesses, fake encounters, Women and Children’s rights, Dalit’s right & Minority Communities’ Rights, Disability, Bonded Labour and Labourer’s Rights, Armed Forces or any of the entries enumerated in List I or List III in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution applicable to that State.etc.

1. Composition of State Human Rights Commission: A State Commission is to be composed of a chairman and some members appointed by the Governor in consultation with the Chief Minister, Home Minister, Speaker and Leader of the Opposition in State Assembly. The chairman is to be a retired judge of the High Court; one of the members should be a serving or a retired District Judge in that state; one member is to be a serving judge or a retired judge of the High Court, two members are to be activists in the field of Human Rights. Besides the above members, the Commission has its own secretary as well.

2. Removal: The chairman or any other member is removable by the President on the charge of proved misbehavior or incapacity after a regular inquiry by a judge of the Supreme Court. They are removable on the grounds as provided for such removals of the members of NHRC as well.

Page 2

Functions of the State Human Rights Commission: Section 12 of the Human Rights Act, 19934 states that;

The Commission shall perform all or any of the following functions, namely:(a) Inquire, suo motu or on a petition presented to it by a victim or any person on his behalf, into complaint of – (i) Violation of Human Rights or abetment thereof; or (ii) Negligence in the prevention of such violation, by a public servant;

(b) Intervene in any proceeding involving any allegation of violation of Human Rights pending before a Court with the approval of such court;

(c) Visit, under intimation to the State Government, any jail or any other institution under the control of the State Government, where persons are detained or lodged for purposes of treatment, reformation or protection to study the living conditions of the inmates and make recommendations thereon;

(d) Review the safeguards provided by or under the Constitution or any law for the time being in force for the protection of Human Rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation;

(e) Review the factors, including acts of terrorism, that inhibit the enjoyment of Human Rights and recommend appropriate remedial measures;

(f) Study treaties and other international instruments on Human Rights and make recommendations for their effective implementation;

(g) Undertake and promote research in the field of Human Rights;

4

Functions of SHRC

Page 3

(h) Spread Human Rights literacy among various sections of society and promote awareness of the safeguards available for the protection of these rights through publications, the media, seminars and other available means;

(i) Encourage the efforts of non-governmental organizations and institutions working in the field of Human Rights;

(j) Such other functions as it may consider necessary for the promotion of Human Rights. Section 12 also ensures that whenever, the Commission on receipt of a complaint or suo-motu finds that there is a violation of the Human Rights or abetment by anybody, irrespective of the fact as to whether the violation is by a public servant or any other person, the Commission can initiate proceedings for enquiry. It also, necessarily, follows that when a court of competent jurisdiction, either Civil or Criminal, is already seized of the matter, the Commission has no jurisdiction in the matter to initiate parallel proceedings or order a parallel investigation. In the Case of N.C. Dhourrdial vs. Union of India, it was stated that the Commission, which is the creature of statute is bound by its provisions. Its duties and functions are defined and circumscribed by the Act. Of course, as any other statutory functionary, it undoubtedly has incidental or ancillary power to effectively exercise its jurisdiction in respect of the powers conferred to it but the Commission, should necessarily act within the parameters prescribed by the Act creating it and the confines of jurisdiction vested in it by the Act.

The Government is duty bound to consider the recommendations of the Commission and to act upon the same. “It may also be relevant to notice here that the Commission is a creature of a Statute i.e. Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. It, therefore, cannot obviously clothe itself with such powers which have not been conferred upon it by the aforesaid Statute. Apparently powers of judicial review have not been conferred upon the Commission. Powers of holding parallel proceedings where the matter is already pending before a competent court (civil or criminal), have also not been envisaged by the Act. Under the provisions of the Act, the Commission has been merely constituted with a function

Page 4

to make recommendations to the appropriate Government, when any violation of Human Right by a public servant, is brought to its notice, after due investigation of the matter. As the language of Section 18 itself suggest that the Commission has only power to make recommendations to the concerned Government or authority, for initiation of proceedings, or for initiation of such action as may be deemed fit. The word “recommendation” necessarily mean “to Suggest.” Such a suggestion cannot be treated to be a decision capable of execution or enforcement.”

Limitations for the Jurisdiction of Human Rights Commission5 

The Commission or the State Commission shall not inquire into any matter after the expiry of one year from the date on which the act constituting violation of human rights is alleged to have been committed. It is, thus, clear that a specific period of limitation has been provided for initiating of proceedings even in connection with violation of human rights by a public servant. The acts which are found to be beyond the aforesaid period of one year from the date, when the complaint in question is filed before the Commission, shall not be inquired into by the Commission or the State Commission. The Commission is enjoined with powers only with a view to inquire into the violation of the Human Rights.



While inquiring into any complaint of human rights violation, the Commission shall exercise the power of a civil court to the limited extent of securing the presence of witnesses, examination of witnesses, etc. After completing the inquiry, as envisaged in Section18 of the Act, the Commission shall make only a recommendation to the Government such as to make payment of compensation or damages to the complainant or to the victim or member of his family as the Commission may consider necessary, in the event the inquiry discloses violation of Human Rights or negligence in the prevention of such violation. On receipt of the Commission’s report, the Central Government may or may not take any action, depending upon the nature of the findings recorded by the Commission.

5

Limitation of SHRC

Page 5



The Commission is not a judicial body. It has only been vested with certain powers of the Civil Court under Section13 for the purpose of inquiry into complaints regarding summoning and enforcing attendance of witnesses, examining them on oath, discovery and production of documents, evidence on affidavit, requisitioning of any public record or copy, issuing Commission for examination of witnesses/documents etc.

But on the other side, it has been stated in U.P. Power Corporation. Ltd. v. National Human Rights Commission that according to S. 18 (a) where inquiry discloses the Commission of violation of Human Rights or negligence in the prevention of violation of Human Rights or abetment thereof by a public servant, it may recommend to the concerned Government or authority to make payment of compensation or damages as the Commission may consider necessary. Thus, the Commission has jurisdiction to recommend compensation as the Commission may consider necessary. The power of the Commission under S. 18 is not initiated by any other provisions or any State Legislature or subordinate legislation. The power of the Commission under S. 18 is in addition to any other provisions covering the subject matter and not in derogation of any other provisions of law.

Complaint procedure with a State Human Right Commission: Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees to all people equality before the law and equal protection of the laws’ within the territory of India. The procedure to file an application with State Human Rights Commission is not a complicated task; any person or the victim himself can present the petition, even in the form of an application, to the authorized person of the Commission.

Non-registration of First Information Reports (FIR) is one of the most serious, frequent and common grievances against the police. This problem is compounded when the person against whom a complaint is made is rich and powerful. Police officers must register an FIR immediately on receiving information about a cognizable offence. Persons aggrieved by non-registration of FIR can approach the District Superintendent of Police or the concerned Magistrate to get their complaints

Page 6

registered. Alternatively complaints in this regard can also be filed before the National or concerned State Human Rights Commission.

WHEN6: Complaint Redressal and Inquiry is one of the major activities of SHRC. SHRC accepts grievances written in any language by post, telegram, fax, email or even on mobile, and also through assistance counter. It charges no fees.  The Commission takes support of a number of legislative Bills/Acts from the human rights perspective:  The Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1985 (TADA)  The Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2000  The Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance, 2001 (POTO)  Freedom of Information Act  Domestic Violence Bill  The Child Marriage Restraint Act  National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill, 2004  Food Safety and Standards Bill, 2005.  The Commission has a very exclusive function of nursing the execution of its recommendations. Commission regularly monitors, through visits of Members of the Commission and its Special Rapporteur, regular response from the Ministries of State and also from other related agencies on the following issues:  Prison environments  Custodial deaths  Hospitals for mentally ill patients  Status of bonded and child labour  Homes run by the Government  Rights of internally displaced persons  Monitors Vishakha (Supreme Court) guidelines on sexual harassment at work place 6

When to file a complaint before SHRC

Page 7

 Encounter deaths  Deaths of children in protection homes  The Commission has laid equivalent position on Civil and Political Rights as well as Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Commission has abetted in narrowing concerns and recommendations resulting in concrete curative steps.

As mentioned above, there are many types of human right violations that takes place but out of them, majority are against the police official regarding Custodial deaths, inhumane treatment of criminal and violations of human rights.

HOW:7 If there is any situation of violation of human rights guaranteed under the Constitution, the injured party may himself file a petition for violation of his human rights in the Commission or that the Commission may by Suo Moto take up the case based on any newspaper report or any other probable source of information. Once he petition is filed in the Commission, it goes through various stages of scrutiny to achieve justice. The following are the various structural sections in the State Human Rights Commissions.

1. INWARD SECTION: This section constitutes the primary step of the process involved in registering a complaint. This is where the petitions are generally filed in person or say that those sent through post, telegram or any means are accepted or say filed. Petitions for violation of human rights are generally in the form of letters sent through post or telegrams addressing either the Chairperson, Secretary or Head of the HRC and under-signed by the petitioner. The petitions are here sorted out and forwarded to the Scrutiny department.

7

How to file a complaint?

Page 8

2. SCRUTINY SECTION: Once a petition is received and registered, it is then received by this section which accepts the petition forwarded by the Inward Section, then scrutinizes the content and checks if there is any violation of Human right. If there is any abuse of human right the petition is forwarded else is dismissed. The forwarded petition is first fed into the computer thereby it generates a random code that would be the petition code.

3. PUBLIC RELATIONS SECTION: Parties to the case or say that the petitioners or the aggrieved parties are not always educated or well versed with their rights. The parties to the case are mostly people unaware of the current scenario of the abuse of legal right and the process that is concerned with it. This section is specially set up so that people can discuss their issues, get suggestions, any necessary information or knowledge from the available Public Relations Officer as a professional help.

4. JUDICIAL SECTION: Immediately as the petitions are accepted, the petitions forwarded by the Inward are sorted out and then a Cause list is prepared. Cause list is a summary of various cases that are going to be heard on various allotted date and that it gives a brief of the cases pending, their hearing dates and the progress of the case.

5. COURT HALL: Once the Cause List is prepared, various petitions according to their dates of hearing are heard in a Court room of the Commission with a bench of judges with the relevant authority. The case is heard in the same manner as done in a court of similar stature and that either a judgment is passed or further postponed based on the pending issues of the case and if the case is mostly of civil nature than that of human right violation or say of any other nature, then the case is directed to the concerned forum or court.

6. RECORD ROOM: Once the hearing of a court is done, either the case is closed or further hearing date is given. In any case, the petition and its Order, Comments, Report, etc. are stored in this particular section. All the details of every case that enters the court hall are maintained for future record.

Page 9

For a Prudent person- How to File a Complaint with State Human Rights Commission Any person i.e. person with the spirit of public interest or the Victim himself can file an application by person or by post. There is no particular procedure to file a Complaint. Whenever and wherever, there is violation of Human Rights or exploitation of Human Being; they can inform the State Human Rights Commission within the prescribed time period.

The matter cannot be pending before any Court in the territory of India, which has a requisite Jurisdiction over the matter. Though, where there is some delay in the execution of the matter, any person can complaint the Commission with regard to such undue delay.

The power of the State Human Rights Commission is to give Order to respective Government to have a policy for requisite execution of the matter or the investigation of the matter by itself only; in this situation, the Commission will submit its report to the State Government for the quick elimination of the restitution.

Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission:Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) was formed on 6th March 2001.8 A. D. Mane was appointment as the first Chairperson along with Vijay Chitnis and M. R. Patil as the supporting members of the commission. The office of the commission is situated near Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai. The Commission promotes respect for human rights. It uses education, information and publicity to promote, protect and enforce human rights. It also helps people to resolve situations where there might have been infringement by public servants of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India. If people are unable to resolve complaints

8

Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 2004-2005, p. 2

Page 10

themselves and if the complaints are found to be within the Commission's jurisdiction, the Commission can provide investigation and redress into such complaints. The State Human Rights Commission is a statutory autonomous body that administers the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. The Act is intended to help ensure that all people in India are treated fairly. The structure of the commission consist of chairperson and two members but they are retired and presently the commission is functioning with wings, (i) Administrative wing headed by Secretary (IAS) Shri Mahul Hussain, (ii) Investigating wing headed by Special IPS Shri Shridgar Vagal (iii) Research wing - research officer, Doctorate in Law and ten years of practice in Law headed by Dr. Jesu Pedal (iv) Legal Wing headed by registrar who is a district magistration on deputation as it vacant so acting by Shri Sard.9 The Commission received 14802 petitions during the period from 2001-2005, out of these, the Commission disposed of 10837 petitions. The Commission received 30967 petitions during the period from 2005-2010, out of these, the Commission disposed of 31,888 petitions. The Commission received 15,231 petitions during the period from 2010-2014, out of these, the Commission disposed of 4,113 petitions.10 The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission held conference on Human Rights education on 12th August 2010, at Mumbai in collaboration with NHRC and is taking steps to further its implementation through State Government and also through various statutory bodies of education in the State. The Commission has been making all out efforts in fulfilling the obligations entrusted to it under section 12(h) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 to promote Human Rights

9

Interview with Jesu Pedal, research officer, Doctorate in Law and ten years of practice in Law from Research wing department, at Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission on 4th August 2012, 11:00am 10 "Progress report of MSHRC", http://www.mhrc.gov.in, 13th December 2011, 3:30 pm

Page 11

literacy and awareness.11 Maharashtra continued to record a high rate of custodial deaths and extrajudicial executions.12 Crimes against Scheduled Castes or Dalits increased. Children remained extremely vulnerable. It also stated that Maharashtra recorded one case of dowry death a day, one rape case every six hours, one molestation case every three hours, one case of cruelty by husband and relatives in every two hours and one sexual harassment case every 10 hours.13 MAHARASHTRA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION 9, Hajarimal Somani Marg, Near CST Railway Station, Mumbai-400001. STD: 022

Fax: 022-2885858

E-Mail:

Chairperson

Justice Shri A. D. Mane Tele(o):22071155 Tele(r):22818917, 26708065

Member

FAX:22091804

Dr. Vijay Chitnis Tele(o):22031082 Tele(r):22813140

Secretary

FAX:22091804

Shri C. L. Thool Tele(o):22078962 Tele(r):22882811, 22881693

Member

FAX:22091804

Shri M. R. Patil Tele(o):22078960 Tele(r):22835913

Member

Homepage:

FAX:22091804

Sri Amitabh Chandra, IAS Tele(o):22076408 Tele(r):22846204

FAX:22091804

Additional Director General Shri Sunil Vaidya, IPS of Police Tele(o):22073232 Tele(r):28768652 Registrar

Shri P. R. Belorkar Tele(o):22092857 Tele(r):22040093

Superintendent of Police

FAX:22091804 FAX:

Shri Manohar Bhoir Tele(o):22070361 Tele(r):26825662

11

FAX:

Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission, Recommendations on Human Rights Education in Maharashtra, Mumbai, 2010, p. vi, vii 12 "Custody death: Relatives blame police", The Free Press Journal, 18th January 2007 13 "Pardhi woman dies in custody, relatives allege torture", The Indian Express, 17th May 2007

Page 12

India’s human rights obligation – a case study India’s human rights obligation – a case study The following is a case study of discrimination and torture in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh The Milli Gazette Published Online: Jun 26, 2012 Print Issue: 1-15 July 2012 By Amit Singh “Police brutality on me, my father and brother makes my spine shiver and fear overpowers me. I am still terrified by the police thinking that as I raise voice against them, they might implicate me in any false case. Earlier police used to stop me and used to threaten that they would implicate me in a false case. The entire incident has pained me and it would be in my mind for years together. Suffering emanating out of police torture cannot be compensated”. (Voice of voiceless, 2011). India is indeed “incredible” [14] in the way it treats its vulnerable citizens, particularly lower caste and poor people. Discrimination, torture, enforced disappearance, police injustice, impunity, cases of arbitrary detention are rampant and enough to substantiate India’s failure to its human rights compliances. Signatory of various human right instruments, Indian government failed to protect and fulfill its obligations not only to its citizen but also it breached many international human rights laws. Against this background, this article will argue that India has failed to keep its human rights obligations, particularly the right to freedom, ban torture and arbitrary arrest. In addition, various case studies have been discussed to support the argument. Background Systemic discrimination of lower castes and minorities has always been a part of the caste structure in the Indian society. Due to discrimination, disadvantaged groups failed to enjoy their basic human rights such as access to education, health services,

14

Incredible India, Indian tourism promotion statement Page 13

safe drinking water and housing rights. These situations are further aggravated when the following human rights violations are committed, namely:

- Rights against subjection to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; - Right to have effective remedy; - Right against arbitrary arrest, detention or exile; - Right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty; - Right to have a fair public hearing in civil or criminal matters. There have been many documented cases of police atrocities and the state’s inability to protect the victims. Rather, noticeable in various cases[15], state machinery has been complicit in such violations and was found guilty of aiding and abetting the criminals. In this connection, documentation has been made by Varanasi-based NGO, PVCHR (People Vigilance Commission on Human Rights)[16] in collaboration with the National Alliance on Testimonial Therapy between 2002 to 2010. For the purpose of gathering concrete evidence, testimonial method[17] has been adopted.

Further section provides a brief overview about the international human rights instruments India has signed and ratified. India’s human rights obligations India has either acceded or has ratified the following human rights treaties[18]: 1. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 2. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 3. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 4. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 15

Documented cases available on www.detenionwatch.blogpot.com

16

s. 12 (a) (i) the Act 1993

17

http://nhrc.nic.in/Documents/Publications/TheProtectionofHumanRightsAct1993_Eng .pdf, (accessed on July 20, 2015) 18 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 (December 10, 1948), http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ (accessed on July 20, 2015). Page 14

5. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (India has only signed, i.e., not ratified).

In addition, India is one of the founding signatories of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Notable is the fact that states which have signed UN conventions have legal obligations to protect, promote and fulfill concerned human rights treaties.

For the purpose of this study, it will be worthwhile to have a brief overview of the concerned rights enshrined in international human rights instruments. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) in article 5 stresses on “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. This element of rights further solidifies in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976) article 7 which says: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”’. However, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment clearly elaborates that “Each State party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction (art. 2(1))”. This Convention forbids the practice of torture in every circumstance including emergency (art. 2 (2)) and says that no public authority can justify torture (art. 2(3)). On discrimination, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) says ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…” (art.1). Further, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in its various articles (art. 1 (2), art. 2(1(a). art. 4) condemns the practice of discrimination.

Moreover, article 15 of the Indian constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religions, race, caste, sex or place of birth. The Indian Constitution outlaws castebased discrimination as well as the practice of “untouchability”. In addition, under article 21, no one shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty.

Page 15

Case Studies:

Case 1: In this case, a powerful local politician has used political connection through local police in order to settle a personal land dispute. Victim S. (district Chandoli, Uttar Pradesh, 2008) has been targeted and tortured by district police. In addition, his elder brother was killed in a fake police encounter; his father was illegally imprisoned and tortured. However, due to poor financial condition, the victim was unable to access the judicial system which is notoriously slow in delivering justice. Nonetheless, victim failed to get his grievances redressed by police or concerned authority. This case represents police-politician nexus in tormenting poor people for their personal gains. Interestingly, local police in addition to dereliction of their duties become a tool of oppression and commit gross violations of human rights by taking an innocent person’s life in fake encounter. Along with it, the victim due to his inability (financial hindrance, mental hardship) could not access the justice system, let alone get fair trail.

Human rights violated in the case:

- Right to life (I. C. C. P. R. art 6(1) - Rights against subjection to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; (I. C. C. P. R. art. 7) - Right to have effective remedy; (I. C. C. P. R. art. 2 (3. a) - Right against arbitrary arrest, detention or exile; (I. C. C. P. R. art. 9 (1)) - Right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty (I. C. C. P. R art. 14. (2) - Right to have a fair public hearing in civil or criminal matters (I. C. C. P. R art. 14, 16) - Right to be treated humanely while in detention (I. C. C. P. R. art. 10(1) - Right to privacy (I. C. C. P. R art 17(1) (2) - Right to equality and non-discrimination (I. C. C. P. R. art. 2(1), 26)

Obstacles to justice: The Police Act, 1861 and the Prison Act, 1894 are two of the oldest statutes in effect. Despite countless recommendations for their repeal and replacement with laws in sync with the international human rights standards, they are still operational. Proper implementation of the many progressive laws and regulations Page 16

have been demanded in order to remove the many structural and functional problems in the Indian justice system. Rights violations by police continued to rise in 2008-9. Police were regularly accused of torturing, beating, abduction, deaths in custody and extra-judicial killings in fake encounters. Police departments do not usually register cases, conduct arbitrary arrests and disregard procedural safeguards. On the other hand, there is a serious lack of awareness amongst litigants on free legal aid services which often doesn’t reach the needy.

Discrimination against disadvantage groups (Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Caste, and Women): India’s tribal population, known as Dailts, have long been discriminated in every aspect of life. The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 seeks to provide such protection. However, weak implementation and low conviction rates (29.32%) are disturbing as is the fact that Police often refuse to register Dalits’ cases. Despite the overarching mandate of equality and non-discrimination contained in the Indian Constitution and regardless of the enactment of women-specific laws, discrimination against women is systemic and shapes all structures of the state and society. Cases of domestic and sexual violence, harassment at workplace, physical threats are on rise.

Conclusion and recommendations: The right to equality and freedom from discrimination, torture and cruel, degrading treatment and inhumane punishment is protected by various provisions of the various international human rights instruments including International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Based on International law, states are accountable on their failure to protect their citizens against human rights violations particularly custodial deaths, torture in custody and discrimination on the basis of one’s caste. This clearly manifests the gap between prevailing international human rights law and its implementation at domestic level.

Discussed cases established the fact that Indian bureaucracy is not sensitive enough towards human rights issues. In addition, deeply-rooted social customs have continuously sustained and supported social biases against vulnerable groups including highly compartmentalized and stigmatized lower classes.

Page 17

Though Indian government is the signatory of many International human rights instruments, in practice blatant violation of human rights is apparent. Rotten police system, slow and inaccessible justice system is just a symbolic representation of the current scenario. In conclusion, police system needs to be revamped. In addition, promotion of human rights education should be a compulsory training for government officials regardless of their rank and status. Justice should be speedy and must be accessible to disadvantaged groups. To achieve this goal, a human rights awareness campaign could be launched in rural areas. People can be empowered only if they know their rights.

The prevailing situation of persistent human rights violations presents manifold challenges to Indian government to fulfill its human rights obligations. A number of progressive legal and policy initiatives have been taken by the government. Nonetheless, the lack of implementation continues to hinder the realization of human rights for India’s most vulnerable.

Page 18

Conclusion

India being the largest Democracy in the world has a duty to protect the kings of democracy i.e. the people or say citizens of a country. The Constitution of India gives various rights to citizens of India which are enforceable in the Court of Law if violated. Any violation if occurred and reported, the government is duty bound to redress it and see that the injured party is compensated for his loss. The Government of India to keep a check on these violations has set up a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and with each state having its own Human Rights Commission i.e. the State Human Rights Commissions (SHRC’s) under the NHRC. Setting up of Commissions at the State level has made it easy for people to approach the court at ease and that the reach of the Commission has also reached the micro level successfully. State Human Rights Commission works as an additional tool for the protection of the Human Rights. As per the theme “how and when to Complaint with State Human Right Commission”, though the jurisdiction of the Commission is vast enough to entertain the Complaints in the field of protection of gross violation of Human Rights and Human indeed; in all cases, the Commission cannot take the action suo-moto. All the Human Beings are supposed to be aware of their Rights, which are the proof of their mere existence. The awareness of the same matters prior to the procedure or the functioning of the Commission.

Page 19

Bibliography / References:

1) Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (henceforth the Act 1993) s. 2 (January 8, 1994). 2) Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre vs. State of Maharashtra (2011)1 SCC 694. 3) s. 12 (a) (i) the Act 1993. 4) http://nhrc.nic.in/Documents/Publications/TheProtectionofHumanRightsAct19 93_Eng.pdf, (accessed on July 20, 2015). 5) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 (December 10, 1948), http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ (accessed on July 20, 2015). 6) State Human Rights Commission investigates custodial deaths, The Times of India (October 11, 20114), 7) http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/State-Human-RightsCommission-investigates-custodial-deaths/articleshow/44778865.cms (accessed on July 20, 2015). 8) ARUL, P., Fake action against police: State Human Rights Commission, Deccan Chronicle, (July 18, 2015) 9) http://www.deccanchronicle.com/150718/nation-current-affairs/article/takeaction-against-police-state-human-rights-commission (accessed on July 20, 2015). 10) Muzaffar, Imran, ‘Cops threaten us of staging fake encounter in our house’, Greater Kashmir (April 29, 2014), 11) http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/kashmir/-cops-threaten-us-of-stagingfake-encounter-in-our-house/168939.html (accessed on July 20, 2015). 12) Hema Malini Crash: Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission Issues Notice to Authorities, NDTV (July 8, 2015), http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/hemamalini-crash-rajasthan-state-human-rights-commission-issues-notice-toauthorities-779388 (accessed on July 20, 2015). 13) Sharma, Somendra, Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission approaches police

against

senior

member,

dna

(Ma

29,

2014),

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-maharashtra-state-human-rightscommission-approaches-police-against-senior-member-1992006 (accessed on July 21, 2015). Page 20

14) Dhar, Aarti, Amend Mines Act to contain silicosis: Rajasthan HRC (April 5, 2015) 15) http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/amend-mines-act-tocontain-silicosis-says-rajasthan-state-human-rightscommission/article7070876.ece (July 21, 2015). 16) Madhukalya, Amrita, 25 years of AFSPA: 43,000 dead in 21 years, dna (July 1, 2015), 17) http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-43000-dead-in-25-years-of-afspa2100707 (July 21, 2015). 18) s. 12 (a) the Act, 1993. 19) Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (henceforth the CrPC 1973) s. 154 (3) (April 1st, 1974). 20) s. 156 (3) the CrPC 1973. 21) AIR 2004 SC 1272. 22) T.T. Antony vs. State of Kerala 2001 (6) SCC 181. 23) Jai Singh v. Punjab State Human Rights Commission and Anr. C.W.P. No. 20075 of 2003 (decided on April 2, 2005). 24) s. 36 (2) the Act 1993. 25) Rajesh Das vs. Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission 2010(5) CTC 589. 26) State of Karnataka v. Union of India (1977) 4 SCC 608. 27) State of Bihar vs. Bihar Human Rights Commission AIR 2014 Pat 30. 28) AIR 2010 All. 139. 29) https://blog.ipleaders.in/file-a-complaint-with-a-state-human-rightscommission/

Page 21