National Human Rights Commission of India

Nation Human Rights Commission
राष्ट्रीय मानवाधिकार आयोग
National Human Rights Commission logo
Agency overview
Formed 12 October 1993
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency India
Operations jurisdiction India
General nature • Federal law enforcement
Headquarters New Delhi, India

Agency executives
  • Justice H. L. Dattu, Chairman
  • Ambuj Sharma, Secretary General
Website
Official website

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India is an autonomous public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993.[1] It was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (TPHRA).[2] The NHRC is the National Human Rights Commission of India,[3] responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights, defined by the Act as "rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants".

"Human Rights" means the rights related to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the constitution or embodied in the International covenants and enforceable by courts in India. "Commission" means the National Human Rights Commission constituted under section of All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights known as Human rights, as commonly understood, are the rights that every human being is entitled to enjoy freely irrespective of his religion, race, caste, sex and nationality, etc. (Jagdish chand, 2007) In Declaration of Independence acknowledged the fundamental human rights. Human right means different thing to different people. Human Rights are not static, but are rather dynamic in nature. New rights are recognized and enforced from time to time. Only persons fully conversant with the latest development about the expanding horizons of Human Rights can promote their awareness better other.

Functions

The Protection of Human Rights Act mandates the NHRC to perform the following functions:[2]

  • proactively or reactively inquire into violations of government of India human rights or negligence in the prevention of such violation by a public servant
  • by leave of the court, to intervene in court proceeding relating to human rights
  • make recommendations about granting relief to the victims and their families.
  • 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
  • review the factors, including acts of terrorism that inhibit the enjoyment of human rights and recommend appropriate remedial measures
  • to study treaties and other international instruments on human rights and make recommendations for their effective implementation
  • undertake and promote research in the field of human rights
  • engage in human rights education 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
  • encourage the efforts of NGOs and institutions congress to working in the field of anti human rights.
  • such other function as it may consider it necessary for the protection of human rights.
  • requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office.
  • by sitting and taking application and rejecting then on the basic of sex, caste, income and social status.

Composition

The NHRC consists of:

The sitting Judge of the Supreme Court or sitting Chief Justice of any High Court can be appointed only after the consultation with the Chief Justice of Supreme Court.

Chairman and Members

Justice JS Kehar is going to be next chairman after H.L. Dattu The chairman of the NHRC is Justice H. L. Dattu and the other members are:[5]


Ex-officio members:

State Human Rights Commission

A State Government may constitute a body known as the Human Rights Commission of that State to exercise the powers conferred upon, and to perform the functions assigned to, a State Commission. In accordance to the amendment brought in TPHRA,1993[6] point No.10 below is the list[7] of State Human Rights Commissions formed to perform the functions of the commission as stated under chapter V of TPHRA,1993 (with amendment act 2006). At present, 25 states have constituted SHRC[8]

State CommissionCityDate constituted
Assam Human rights CommissionGuwahati19 January 1996
Andhra Pradesh State Human rights CommissionHyderabad2 August 2006
Bihar Human rights CommissionPatna3 January 2000
Chhattisgarh Human Rights CommissionRaipur16 April 2001
Gujarat State Human Rights Commission[9]Gandhinagar12 September 2006
Goa Human Rights CommissionPanaji2011
Meghalaya State Human Right CommissionShillong2013
Himachal Pradesh State Human rights CommissionShimla--
Jammu & Kashmir Human Rights CommissionSrinagarJanuary 1997
Kerala State Human Rights CommissionThiruvananthapuram11 December 1998
Karnataka State Human Rights CommissionBangalore28 June 2005
Madhya Pradesh Human Rights CommissionBhopal1 September 1995
Maharashtra State Human Rights CommissionMumbai6 March 2001
Manipur State Human Rights CommissionImphal2003
Odisha Human rights CommissionBhubaneswar27 January 2000
Punjab Human Rights CommissionChandigarh1997
Rajasthan State Human rights CommissionJaipur18 January 1999
State Human Rights Commission Tamil NaduChennai17 April 1997
Uttar Pradesh Human Rights CommissionLucknow7 October 2002
West Bengal Human Rights CommissionKolkata8 January 1994
Jharkhand State Human Rights CommissionRanchi2010
Sikkim State Human Rights CommissionGangtok18 October 2008
Uttarakhand Human Rights CommissionDehradun13 May 2013
Haryana Human Rights CommissionChandigarh2012
Tripura Human rights CommissionAgartala2015

Appointment

Section 2 Sections 3 and 4 of TPHRA lay down the rules for appointment to the NHRC. The Chairperson and members of the NHRC are appointed by the President of India, on the recommendation of a committee consisting of:

Former chairpersons

Sr
No		NameTenure
1.Justice Ranganath Misra12 October 1993 – 24 November 1996
2.Justice M N Venkatachaliah26 November 1996 – 24 October 1999
3.Justice J S Verma4 November 1999 – 17 January 2003
4.Justice A S Anand17 February 2003 – 31 October 2006
5.Justice S. Rajendra Babu2 April 2007 - 31 May 2009
6.Justice K G Balakrishnan7 June 2010 - 11 May 2015
7.Justice H.L. Dattu29 Feb-2016

Acting Chairpersons

  • Justice Cyriac Joseph from 11 May 2015 to 28 February 2016
  • Dr. Justice Shivaraj Patil, from 1 November 2006 to 1 April 2007
  • Justice G.P. Mathur, from 1 June 2009 to 6 June 2010

Controversy

A report concerning the manner of which the Shivani Bhatnagar murder controversy case was rejected, a case which involved high-ranking officials being implicated in the murder of a journalist, opened the organisation up to questioning over the usefulness of human rights commissions set up by the government at the national and state levels.[10]

In mid-2011, the chairman of the NHRC, ex-Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan came under a cloud for allegedly owning assets disproportionate to his income.[11] His son-in-law P. V. Srinijan, an Indian National Congress politician, had to resign for suddenly coming into possession of land worth Rs. 25 lakhs.[12] Many prominent jurists, including former CJ J. S. Verma, SC ex-Judge V. R. Krishna Iyer, noted jurist Fali S. Nariman, former NHRC member Sudarshan Agrawal and prominent activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, have called on Balakrishnan's resignation pending from the HRC pending inquiry.[13] In February 2012, the Supreme Court inquired of the government regarding the status of the inquiry.[14]

Human Rights Campaign's recommendations

NHRC held that 16 out of 19 police encounters with suspected maoists in Guntur and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh, prior to 2002 were fake and recommended to Government payment of compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the families.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Annual Report 1993-94 of the National Human Rights Commission
  2. 1 2 The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, as amended by the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2006
  3. ↑ Nath, Damini. "NHRC issues notice to T.N." The Hindu. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  4. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ex-sc-judges-could-soon-be-appointed-nhrc-chiefs/article19824595.ece
  5. ↑ NHRC website
  6. ↑ http://nhrc.nic.in/documents/Publications/HRActEng.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.nhrc.nic.in/shrc.htm
  8. ↑ http://nhrc.nic.in/shrc.htm
  9. ↑ http://nhrc.nic.in/GujratOrders.htm
  10. ↑ The NHRC, and the Shivani Murder Controversy. Indiatogether.org. Retrieved on 2012-09-30.
  11. ↑ CBDT to probe ex-CJI Balakrishnan's assets -Videos India:IBNLive Videos. Ibnlive.in.com (2011-06-22). Retrieved on 2012-09-30.
  12. ↑ Ex-CJI's son amasses property in four years. Deccanherald.com (2012-09-21). Retrieved on 2012-09-30.
  13. ↑ Fali Nariman wants judicial probe against ex-CJI, kin's assets : South News – India Today. Indiatoday.intoday.in (2011-01-03). Retrieved on 2012-09-30.
  14. ↑ SC asks Centre about action taken against ex-CJI KG Balakrishnan – India News – IBNLive. Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved on 2012-09-30.
  15. ↑ "NHRC declares 16 out of 19 encounters fake, orders compensation of Rs.80 lakh". 13 July 2012.
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