The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Human rights court for every district mooted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 18, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Human rights court for every district mooted

Staff Reporter

Thiruvananthapuram: Every district in the State will soon have an exclusive court for trying cases relating to human rights violations, Law Minister M. Vijayakumar, has said.

Inaugurating a seminar on `Police and Human Rights' here on Thursday, the Minister said the Government would seek the permission of the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court for designating a sessions court in each district as special court for examining human rights abuses.

Ideally, the police should uphold human rights. However, sometimes its conduct does not suit a democratic society. The police are also the Government's image. Long and erratic working hours have made police work stressful. Society should be mindful of the human rights of policemen and also the constraints under which they work, Mr. Vijayakumar said.

Mr. Vijayakumar accused private college managements of violating the rights of students by upsetting the professional self-financing college law aimed at regulating fees and ensuring merit in admission. He said degrading ecologically fragile areas for short-term profits, as done by the land grabbers in Munnar, was a human rights offence.

Third degree

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Intelligence, Jacob Punnose said there was no glory in solving cases using third degree. "It is like getting full marks for an examination by copying the answers," he said.

A policeman who tortures a man in custody is liable for prosecution under section 331 of the Indian Penal Code. The law attracts a maximum punishment of up to seven years of imprisonment. The ADGP said policemen should report instances of use of torture. It is an offence to remain a mute witness when a crime is perpetrated and use of third degree is a felony, he said.

Mr. Punnose pointed out that `big time' criminals and killers rarely faced custodial torture. No top criminal has ever died in police custody in Kerala, he said. Custodial deaths could be avoided if policemen are professional enough to set aside their ego. Persons who have died in custody are mostly those who have challenged the policemen on duty. He said a fatigued college teacher was assaulted in a traffic police station because he dared to sit on the head constable's chair. The police later portrayed him as a mentally disturbed person.

There is no merit in claiming that a case solved using third degree was cracked through scientific investigation. Policemen seeking cheap publicity often air such claims at press conferences. Ordinary policemen have little knowledge about scientific investigation. Every year, at least 1,75,000 cases are registered in Kerala. Out of this, forensic expertise is sought only in 1,300 cases. The public believes that policemen are often responsible for destruction of evidence at a crime or accident scene, Mr. Punnose said. Chairman of the State Human Rights Commission N. Dinakar presided.

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