Tag: NHRC

National Human Rights Commission

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National Human Rights Commission

National Human Rights Commission was established by the government under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 in October 1993. There are a total of eight members in the commission-one chairman, a present or  former judge of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of a current or former High Court, two members with expertise in the field of human rights and National Commission for Women, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Chairman of the Scheduled Tribes Commission and the National Commission for Minorities.  All members, including its president, have a tenure of ten years.

The National Human Rights Commission was formed by the President on the recommendation of a committee constituted under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister. Other members of this committee were: Lok Sabha Speaker, Home Minister, Leader of Opposition in the House and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

Under the Public Code Procedure, 1908 (Code of Civil Procedure, 1908) the Commission receives all the powers of the Civil Court. The Commission can hear and act on any plea submitted to it or any petition filed by another person on his behalf. In addition to this, the Commission can intervene in any matter related to violence against the pending human rights before the court with the approval of the court. This commission is received by the Commission that it can inspect any prison by foreifying the concerned officers or according to the circumstances, delegate their powers of inspection of prisons to other bureaucrats. The treaties related to human rights by the commission are studied and necessary recommendations are made to make them more effective. Generally, the nature of petitions related to violations of human rights to be accepted by the Commission should be as follows:

  1. The incident should have taken place more than a year before the complaint;
  2. The complaint should be of semi-judicial type;
  3. The complaint should be uncertain, unknown or in the fake name;
  4. The complaint should not be of trivial nature;
  5. There should be no complaints outside the purview of the commission, and;
  6. Matters relating to consumer services and administrative appointments.

It is very simple to register a complaint in the Commission. Complaint is filed free of charge. Complaints received by fax and wire (telegraphic) are also accepted by the commission. A report related to the status of human rights in the country is published annually by the National Human Rights Commission. This report is presented before the assembly.  Whereas such report is kept by the State Human Rights Commission before the Legislative Assembly of the State.

Under Article 30 of the Human Rights Protection Act 1993, Human Rights Court can be constituted for the speedy disposal of crime related disputes. In order to resolve the disputes in the court, the government will appoint a public prosecutor through notification which has advocated as an advocate for 7 years.

In the case of complaints of human rights violations by armed forces, the commission can demand a report regarding the matter with the government on its own cognizance or on any petition received. According to the recommendations of the government, the Commission can stop the proceedings on the complaint and it is compulsory for the Commission to take the report within three months or the Commission within the stipulated time of the Commission with the action taken in the context of the said matter.

Commission review

The Commission has made certain achievements in his account. It succeeds in persuading the central government to sign the United Nations Convention against torture and cruel, inhuman and low punishment or other forms of behavior.  It has also helped in preparing specialized training modules on human rights in educational and training institutions.

Sections 2 (d) of the Human Rights Protection Act defines human rights as the right to be recognized by the Constitution, life equality and personal dignity, or are referred to in international conventions or contracts and are enforced by the courts in India. . In this way, the law expects the NHRC to focus on civil and political rights rather than focus on social and economic rights. The  the Human Rights Commission is playing an effective role in pressuring the government to provide social and economic justice to the citizens.

Chairmen of NHRC

No.       Name                                                                                      Duration

  1. Justice Shri Ranganath Misra                                                     12.10.1993 to  24.11.1996
  2. Justice Shri M.N. Venkatachalliah                                            26.11.1996 to 24.10.1999
  3. Justice Shri J.S. Verma                                                                24.11.1999 to 17.1.2003
  4. Dr. Justice A.S. Anand                                                                 17.2.2003 to 31.10.2006
  5. Justice Shivaraj V. Patil (Acting Chairperson)                       01.1 1.2006 to 01.04.2007
  6. Justice S. Rajendra Babu (Acting Chairperson)                    02.04.2007 31.05.2009
  7. Justice Govind Prasad Mathur (Acting Chairperson)          1.06.2009 to 06.06.2010
  8. Justice Shri K.G. Balakrishnan                                                 07.06.2010 to  11.05.2015
  9. Justice H.L.Dattu                                                                        29.02.2016- contd…