The Hindu : National : Sadashiva panel report, responses to be sent to complainants

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 21, 2005

National

National

Sadashiva panel report, responses to be sent to complainants

Staff Correspondent

Rights commission gives eight weeks to the complainants to reply

NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will send copies of the report of the Justice A.J. Sadashiva Panel, which examined allegations of atrocities perpetrated by the Joint Special Task Force (JSTF) during the anti-Veerappan operations, to the complainants along with the responses received from the governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Commission has given the complainants eight weeks to reply to the responses received from the two State governments.

The Commission has directed that copies of the recent representation, dated October 13, 2005, submitted by Mr. Henri Tiphagne, member of the Campaign for the Release and Rehabilitation of JSTF victims, be forwarded to the Chief Secretaries of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and has asked for their comments in four weeks.

The Justice Sadashiva Panel, constituted by the Commission on June 28, 1999, submitted its report to the Commission on December 2, 2003.

The Commission said that after getting the Panel's Report examined through the Registrar (Law), it directed on February 23, 2004 that the copy of the report of the Panel be sent to the Chief Secretaries of Government of Karnataka and Government of Tamil Nadu.

Reminders sent

Though the Commission asked for a response within three months, the State Governments sent their comments a year later. The Karnataka Government sent its response on May 2, 2005, and the Tamil Nadu Government replied on May 5, 2005, after a number of reminders, and only after the Commission (on March 7, 2005) threatened to exercise its powers to inquire into complaints.

The Tamil Nadu Government, in a letter dated December 16, 2004, conveyed to the Commission that the report of the Inquiry Panel was under "active consideration" and that the action taken report on the recommendations of the panel would be sent to the Commission shortly.

The Karnataka Government, in a letter dated December 3, 2004, asked for a copy of the report, which had already been sent to them.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National