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| Holy cows, chained watchdogs |
Suhas
Chakma |
The
Government of India, in a "memorandum of action
taken" of December 2003 on the 2001-02 annual
report of the National Human Rights Commission of
India, has rejected the NHRC's demand for
amendment of Section 19 of the Human Rights
Protection Act (HRPA) of 1993 citing "compulsions
of fighting cross-border terrorism" and
"widespread politicisation of human rights
issues". |
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Under Section 19 of
the HRPA, while dealing with complaints of human rights
violation by the Armed Forces, NHRC "may seek a report
from the Central Government" and "after the receipt of
the report, it may either not proceed with the complaint
or, as the case may be, make its recommendations to the
Government". The NHRC basically serves as a glorified
post box and it has been demanding the amendment since
the last few years.
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According to the
2002-03 Annual Report of the Ministry of Home Affairs
(MHA), 14 out of 28 states are afflicted by internal
armed conflicts. Hundreds of thousands of security men
from para-military forces and the army have been
deployed. There have been reports of serious human
rights violations by security men such as torture, rape,
extra judicial executions and death in
custody.
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The NHRC reports
provide testimonies to some human rights violations by
security men. In its 1999-2000 Annual Report, NHRC cites
the October 22, 1993, massacre in Bijbehara in Jammu
& Kashmir, where approximately 60 people were killed
by BSF personnel. The NHRC took suo motu action and
issued notices on November 1, 1993, to the Ministries of
Defence and Home Affairs and the Government of Jammu
& Kashmir. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
informed the NHRC that 37 persons died and 73 others
injured in the firing.
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In an order on
January 17, 1994, the NHRC recommended that "a thorough
review be made into the circumstance in which BSF units
are deployed and operate in situations involving
civilian population." In a letter dated November 12,
1996, Mr AK Tandon, Director General, Border Security
Force, informed the NHRC that "a General Security Force
Court (GSFC) trial was conducted in respect of 12 BSF
personnel involved in the incident, but confirmation of
the trial was being withheld as additional ROE was to be
conducted against Sub-Inspector Mahar Singh." Mr Tandon
also informed that the trial was concluded on October
30, 1996, and the accused was found not
guilty.
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In a further order
on March 16, 1998, the NHRC stated that before taking
any final view in the matter, it first wanted to review
the proceedings. It directed the MHA to produce records
of the trial proceedings conducted by the Staff Court of
Inquiry and the GSFC and the record of administrative
proceedings. The MHA did not honour the request
expressing "inability to show GSFC records to any
authority other than those under the BSF Act".
Consequently, NHRC was "compelled to move a Writ
Petition before the Supreme Court", which was later
withdrawn under mysterious circumstances.
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Apart from the
Bijbehera case, the NHRC also expressed concern that
those responsible for the abduction and subsequent
killing of a prominent advocate of Srinagar, Jalil
Andrabi, on March 27, 1996, are yet to be brought to
trial, in its 1999-2000 Annual Report. The Commission's
insistent call that the killers be tracked down and
brought to book met with little response and a single
line comment came in the 1998-99 Annual Report: "The
matter is sub judice."
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Given occurrences of
enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings, the
NHRC requested the Government of India to direct the
security forces to report to it any cases relating to
death in custody. It fell on the deaf ears of the
Ministry of Home Affairs.
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The obfuscation of
justice by the Government does not end here. Even the
annual reports are withheld and not submitted in
Parliament on time. Not surprisingly, in its latest
2001-2002 Annual Report, the NHRC states: "The delays
(in making the reports public) have amounted to denial
of the right to information... The delay in tabling the
annual reports before Parliament has resulted in a
corresponding delay in releasing its contents to the
public. In the process, both the elected representatives
and the public have, in effect, been denied timely and
comprehensive information on the work and concerns of
the Commission."
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The NHRC rightly
urged that impunity to the Armed forces bring no credit
to the Government and the security forces and "it
thwarts the purposes of justice and the prime objective
leading to establishment of this Commission, namely the
need to ensure `better protection' of human rights in
the country". The impunity to the Armed Forces and
insinuation against the NHRC lay to dust India's claim
to being a democratic state.
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