The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Mani demands Assembly session to discuss custodial deaths

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 15, 2006

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Mani demands Assembly session to discuss custodial deaths

Special Correspondent

Criticises Government move to nominate four members to State rights panel

KOCHI: Kerala Congress (M) leader K.M. Mani has asked the Government to convene an emergency session of the Assembly to discuss the issue of rising incidents of custodial deaths. Mr. Mani said 14 custodial deaths had been reported in the short span of time after the Left Democratic Front Government assumed office. "This is an all-time record. It is a disgrace to Kerala," he said at a news conference here on Monday.

Mr. Mani said the situation was grave and hence an emergency meeting of the Assembly should be convened to discuss the issue and find steps to end police atrocities.

In the incident related to a custodial death at the Fort police station in the capital last year, the then UDF Government had taken prompt action and registered murder cases against the accused policemen.

But, so far, the LDF Government has not taken any step against any policeman, he said.

Mr. Mani said the Government's move to nominate four members to the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) had affected the functioning of the rights panel. He said the Union Government had, by taking a leaf out of the Kerala Commission's experience, drafted a Bill limiting the number of members of all SHRCs in the country to three and diluting the qualification of their chairpersons (from retired High Court Chief Justice to retired High Court judge).

Now, at a time when all the other States are copying the Kerala Commission's model, the LDF Government was raising the number of commission members to four. This would hurt Kerala's credibility, he said.

Mr. Mani alleged that the LDF Government was doing this out of spite for the commission chairperson. The LDF nursed revenge for Mr. Mohan Kumar because he had, as head of the commission probing the `Abkari Manichan case,' had exposed the truths behind the scandal. "When the Bill (limiting members' number to three) gets Parliament's nod," he warned, "the Kerala Commission cannot function as it has four members on it."

Then there would be only two options: one, to get one of the four members out, which would require impeachment by Parliament; or, to leave the commission's functioning stalled for the rest of its duration.

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