The Hindu : Kerala News : Freeze on SHRC hits filing of rights cases

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 07, 2006

Kerala

Kerala

Freeze on SHRC hits filing of rights cases

Girish Menon

Amendments to Act may compound confusion

Thiruvananthapuram: Functioning of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has come to a grinding halt consequent on the recent Kerala High Court verdict staying its working till a full-time chairman is appointed.

A non-functioning quasi-judicial body, which has been conceived as a platform for direct redressing of public grievances related to human rights violations and police excesses, has larger implications in the context of the series of custodial and other deaths involving the police.

The commission registered 25 cases related to custodial death up to June 30 in 2006, 39 in 2005, 49 in 2004 and 41 in 2003. In the last one month alone, nine custodial related cases were registered, while every other day, there are reports of human rights violations, either allegedly committed by the police or others.

In 2004, the commission registered 309 cases against the police, while it was 177 in 2005 and 96 up to July 20, 2006.

Investigations into as many as 1,500 cases before the commission at the beginning of the year have been held up, and consequent on the High Court verdict, new petitions are not being accepted. The commission has not taken up any custodial death cases since the verdict on July 28.

The commission went into limbo following the High Court directive staying its functions till the appointment of a full-time chairman according to procedures now in force. The commission has been caught in a legal wrangle over cases relating to the appointment of two of its members, one of whom, the former judge V.P. Mohankumar had been appointed its Acting Chairman.

The then United Democratic Front Government brought in an Ordinance limiting the number of members of the commission from five to three, and amending the qualifications relating to the appointment of chairman. The Left Democratic Front Government allowed the Ordinance to lapse, restoring the earlier laws guiding the chairman's appointment.

The court, while disposing of the case, confirmed the appointment of Mr. Mohankumar and the member S. Verghese.

The court's judgment has disclosed some hitherto unknown facts.

The judgment refers to a letter written by the then Chief Minister A.K. Antony to the Governor recommending the name of Mr. Mohankumar as the Acting Chairman.

The letter nominated Mr. Mohankumar as Acting Chairman in the light of the non-availability of a person in the rank of the former Chief Justice, as stipulated by the Human Rights Commission Act.

The letter, while indicating that the then Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan had proposed the name of the former High Court judge K. Narayana Kurup for the post, states that after discussions, Mr. Achuthanandan agreed to the proposal to appoint Mr. Mohankumar.

Mr. Achuthanandan had impleaded himself in the original case filed by the activist Joemon Puthenpurackal, challenging the appointment of the two members.

The commission is likely to go through another phase of difficulties because appointments to it have high political stakes. In the meantime, Parliament is due to consider amendments to the National Human Rights Commission Act relating to the strength of the commission (limiting it to three as against the present five) and the qualification for appointment as commissioner.

The Bill, once it becomes an Act, would lead to further confusion, because the State commission already has two judicial members and the Government cannot possibly appoint a chairperson, who, according to the new Bill, should have five years of service as judge in the High Court to be eligible for appointment to the post. According to Law Department sources, the State Government is yet to finalise its stand on the new developments.

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