The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Several States yet to set up rights panel

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Several States yet to set up rights panel

Special Correspondent

In Tamil Nadu, the forum's staff strength has to be increased, says NHRC member

CHENNAI: The National Human Rights Commission is reminding those States that have not constituted State Human Rights Commission to form the rights body, its Member Shivraj V. Patil said on Tuesday.

Inaugurating a programme on sensitising resource persons to protection of human rights and promoting awareness of rights literacy, organised by the National and State Human Rights Commissions, he said 17 States had constituted the commission. Some others were yet to do so.

And in some States, the commissions went without full complement of members or chairpersons. If a State commission was without staff or adequate infrastructure, its functioning could be crippled. In Tamil Nadu, the commission had a full complement of members, but its staff strength should be increased.

Mr. Patil said a large number of the 75,000 complaints pending before the National Commission were from north India. Several of them related to illegal detention, torture and custodial violence. He urged the police to follow the legal provisions strictly and adopt modern methods of investigation. Professional approach would help to avoid rights violations. Human rights culture should spread to all walks of life, especially in the police.

Handbook for judicial officers coming

He detailed the steps being taken by the national commission for creating public awareness of human rights. It was preparing a handbook on the subject for judicial officers. It was ready to organise workshops for the police. More than the common man, public administrators and the police should have the basic requirements — social consciousness and social responsibility.

State commission chairperson Justice A.S. Venkatachalamoorthy said the police must play an important role in protecting human rights. They should instil confidence in the minds of the people. They should never exceed their limits.

R. Nataraj, director, investigation wing of the SHRC, said human rights were divine. They were written in the hearts of men by the nature's fingers. The days of police highhandedness were over, thanks to the increasing awareness. Policemen must treat all human beings humanely. Similar awareness programmes for policemen would be conducted in the police zonal headquarters.

SHRC members S. Thangaraj and A.R. Selvakumar and Chennai Police Commissioner Letika Saran spoke.

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