Establishing separate HRC

11/11/2019

The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 was enacted by the Parliament in response to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic and Social and Cultural Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1965. Since India was a party to these Covenants, the Act was promulgated with the object of constituting a National Human Rights Commission, State Human Rights Commissions and Human Rights Courts for better protection of human rights and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Keeping in mind difficult topography and pendency of complaints, the Law Commission (LC) has recommended establishment of a separate Human Rights Commission for the newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh. Moreover, it has not put any weight behind the idea of conferring the functions relating to human rights upon a State Commission located outside these UTs.
Section 2(1)(d) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 defines “human rights” to mean the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India. Thereafter, amendments were carried out in the Act from time to time. Taking into consideration the vagaries of weather, the difficult terrain, the topography, the geographical conditions with which the two Union Territories are confronted with and above all the number of complaints which were pending for disposal at the time of winding up of the Human Right Commission of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, it may not be feasible and possible to confer the functions relating to human rights upon a State Commission located outside these Union Territories. State Human Rights Commission was closed along with six other State Commissions on October 23, 2019 consequent upon the repeal of several State Acts by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019. At the time of closure, 600 cases were pending for disposal in the Human Rights Commission.

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