THE ROLE OF NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONS OF INDIA
After the Second World War the
concept of “human rights'' was introduced to international law. The
establishment of the United Nations also played a major role. The General
Assembly of the United Nations universally declared human rights on 10 December
1948. It was a definite milestone in the history of human rights. Every human
being has certain rights socially, politically or economically as long as he is
a human being. The UN commission adopted the guidelines on human rights which were
the “Paris Principles'' in 1992. The UN General Assembly then adopted it in
1993. The Paris principle was the centre where the development of national
human rights commissions from all over the globe took place. The National Human
Rights Commissions are independent autonomous bodies that act as a supporting
role to the already existing institutions.
Establishment of NHRC
The National Human Rights Commission
of India is an independent organisation that was established on 12 October
1993. In 1992 the (then)Prime Minister of India held a conference of Chief
minister’s where he put forward the
modalities to set up the Human Rights Commissions. The meeting explored the
issues of placing the constitutional rights of civil liberties within the
boundaries of the Commission and custodial justice. It was constituted under
the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993 which was enacted
by the Protection of Human
Rights Act, 1993. It was introduced to protect and promote human rights, which
are the basic fundamental rights relating to equality, liberty and dignity of
each and every human being guaranteed under the Constitution of India
regardless of their class, creed, sex, religion, language or any other status.
Power of NHRC
The National Human Rights Commission
holds certain power related to inquiries under Section 13 of the Protection of
the Human Rights Act. 1993.
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The act gives NHRC the power to summon and enforce a witness
to examine them
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It can discover or produce certain documents if need be
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It can receive any evidence based on affidavits
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It can formally request for any public record or copy from any sector or
organisation
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It can very well issue a Commission to examine a witness or
any documents whatsoever
The National Human Rights Commission
also holds certain power related to an investigation under Section 14 of the
Protection of the Human Rights Act, 1993.
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To conduct an investigation related to any inquiry, the
Commission may/can seek help from the investigating officer/organisation that
are/is working for the Central or the State Government.
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The assistance of the investigating officer or organisation
under subsection (1) who helped investigate in any matter related to the
inquiry will be subjected to the direct control and order of the Commission
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The clause of Section 15 will be applicable to any person
who has given a statement to the investigating officer/organisation. It will
also be applicable to any person who has given a statement while presenting any
evidence to the Commission.
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The investigating officer/agency whose assistance has been
utilised under subsection(1) will
investigate the inquiry and submit a report to the Commission under a given
time period mentioned by the Commission itself
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The Commission will decide for itself the legitimacy of the
facts and conclusion (if any) provided in the submitted report under subsection
(4). The Commission may also make such inquiry again if need be.
Role of NHRC in establishing
human rights in India
The National Human Rights Commission
of India plays some major important functions in order to the successful
establishment of rights in India.
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It keeps a constant check on violations of any rights that
have been done by any government body, employee, or even by the government of
India itself.
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It reviews and gives solutions against all the acts which
include terrorism that violates the enjoyment of human rights.
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It promotes research under fields of human rights and
undertakes them as well.
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It recommends the effective implementation of the international
and national treaties related to human rights.
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It safeguards human rights and suggests ways for their
strong implementations.
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It also visits the prisoners and goes through their
condition and discusses their views.
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It promotes, engages, and spreads awareness among the
society on human rights education and availability of protection through
several means such as seminars, publications, and many more.
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It motivates the organizations that are working to protect
human rights in society.
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It also makes people aware of the necessity of human rights
in society.
In order to lodge or register
complaints, some steps need to be followed:
Step 1: Visit the official website
of NHRC or www.nhrc.nic.in
Step 2: Click on Lodge
Complaint/Track Status Button
Step 3: Click on Lodge Complaint
Button
Step 4: A form will appear on the
screen which is needed to be filled
The form includes:
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Select state of Incident
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Location of where do you want to submit your complaint
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Provide your mobile number
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Provide your email ID
Step 5: An OTP will be sent to your
mobile number or email id
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All the above steps are mandatory verification, post this, a
detailed form will appear on the next screen.
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In the next form, you have to provide your name, gender,
address, state, district, and pin code. Victim details, which consist of name,
gender, address, state, district, pin code, disability, age, religion, and
caste also need to be provided.
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Details of the incident such as place, state, district,
date, category, sub-category, complaint description, and whether it has been
filed before any court or state human rights commission or not need to be
provided.
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After this, a relief details area such as name, designation,
and the address of the public servant with full details has to be given.
Step 6: Finalise the complaint by
clicking on the Preview
Step 7: If required, upload
documents in PDF format only.
Step 8: Choose if you want to
display the complainant and victim’s name on the website or not
Step 9: Click on Submit
A Unique Diary Number will be
provided after the successful submission of the complaint, which will be
helpful to keep track of the status of the complaint.
Recent Initiations made by NHRC of India
i) On the 29th of July, 2020, the NHRC
ordered the Telangana government to five lakh rupees in order to compensate the
families of five Muslims who were killed by the police force due to false
accusations of many terrorism charges,
ii)
A suo-motu complaint filed by the NGO at NHRC, International Law Affiliates on
the favour of poor young girls in India and Nepal for being forcibly pushed
into prostitution after being trafficked, in many red-light areas.
iii)
Once again a suo-motu complaint was filed against two miscreants in Karimpur,
Nadia, West Bengal for being allegedly raping a visually impaired girl at her
home in the absence of her parents.
iv)
A boy was found dead in an observatory home in Karnataka. It was first
published in a national daily on 14 December 2004. The commission asked for a
report from the secretary of the state,
which stated that the deceased was charged of theft and for which he
committed suicide,
v)
NHRC investigated the case of Suraj Singh who was killed in an encounter at
Sultanpur, UP, in Feb 2007. The commission’s report states that the encounter was a
cover-up to justify the murder.
Every organization and body needs a statutory or
a regulatory body to protect the rights of every individual. The Constitution
provides its citizens with numerous rights which will be violated if not
protected. Violation of human rights is equivalent to disrespecting the
Constitution of India and it is a punishable offence. The National Human Rights
Commission of India serves the country as an army. As the Indian Army is
protecting the citizens of this nation from the enemies, similarly the NHRC is
also protecting our human rights from the violators.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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