Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission Explained

Agencyname:Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission
Nativename:राजस्थान राज्य मानवाधिकार आयोग
Formed:18 January 1999
Preceding1:National Human Rights Commission of India
Country:India
Federal:Yes
Sizearea:342,239 km2
Sizepopulation:73,529,325 (2015)
Constitution1:TPHRA, 1993 [1]
Headquarters:Jaipur, Rajasthan
Website:www.rshrc.rajasthan.gov.in
Chief1name:Ganga Ram Moolchandani

The Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission is a State Government body constituted on 18 January 1999 to exercise the powers conferred upon, and to perform the functions assigned to, a State Human Rights Commission under chapter-V of The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.[1]

The commission became functional from 23 March 2000 with the appointment of Justice Kanta Kumari Bhatnagar, former Chief Justice of the Madras High Court as the first Chairperson along with Shri R. K. Akodia, Shri B. L. Joshi and Prof. Alamshah Khan as the supporting members.[2]

Functions

The Commission shall perform all or any of the following functions in accordance to chapter-III point No.12 of the TPHRA-1993.

  1. Inquire, moto or on a petition presented to it by a victim or any person on his behalf or on a direction or order of any court into complaint of
    1. Violation of human rights or abatement thereof; or
    2. Negligence in the prevention of such violation, by a public servant;
  2. Intervene in any proceeding involving any allegation of violation of human rights pending before a court with the approval of such court;
  3. Visit, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, any jail or other institution under the control of the State Government, where persons are detained or lodged for purposes of treatment, reformation or protection, for the study of the living conditions of the inmates thereof and make recommendations thereon to the Government;
  4. Review the safeguards provided by or under the Constitution or any law for the time being in force for the protection of human rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation;
  5. Review the factors, including acts of terrorism that inhibit the enjoyment of human rights and recommend appropriate remedial measures;
  6. Study treaties and other international instruments on human rights and make recommendations for their effective implementation;
  7. Undertake and promote research in the field of human rights;
  8. Spread human rights literacy among various sections of society and promote awareness of the safeguards available for the protection of these rights through publications, the media, seminars and other available means;
  9. Encourage the efforts of non-governmental organisations and institutions working in the field of human rights;
  10. Such other functions as it may consider necessary for the protection of human rights.

Procedure

The course of action to any case as mentioned in chapter-IV point no. 17 to 20 of TPHRA Act 1993.

Inquiry into complaints

The Commission while inquiring into the complaints of violations of human rights may–

  1. call for information or report from the Central Government or any State Government or any other authority or organisation subordinate thereto within such time as may be specified by it:- Provided that–
    1. if the information or report is not received within the time stipulated by the Commission, it may proceed to inquire into the complaint on its own;
    2. if, on receipt of information or report, the Commission is satisfied either that no further inquiry is required or that the required action has been initiated or taken by the concerned Government or authority, it may not proceed with the complaint and inform the complainant accordingly;
    3. without prejudice to anything contained in clause (i), if it considers necessary, having regard to the nature of the complaint, initiate an inquiry.

Steps during and after inquiry

The Commission may take any of the following steps during or upon the completion of an inquiry held under this Act, namely:-

  1. where the inquiry discloses the commission of violation of human rights or negligence in the prevention of violation of human rights or abatement thereof by a public servant, it may recommend to the concerned Government or authority –
    1. to make payment of compensation or damages to the complainant or to the victim or the members of his family as the Commission may consider necessary;
    2. to initiate proceedings for prosecution or such other suitable action as the Commission may deem fit against the concerned person or persons;
    3. to take such further action as it may think fit;
  2. approach the Supreme Court or the High Court concerned for such directions, orders or writs as that Court may deem necessary;
  3. recommend to the concerned Government or authority at any stage of the inquiry the grant of such immediate interim relief to the victim or the members of his family as the Commission may consider necessary;
  4. subject to the provisions of clause
  5. provide a copy of the inquiry report to the petitioner or his representative;
  6. the Commission shall send a copy of its inquiry report together with its recommendations to the concerned Government or authority and the concerned Government or authority shall, within a period of one month, or such further time as the Commission may allow, forward its comments on the report, including the action taken or proposed to be taken thereon, to the Commission;
  7. the Commission shall publish its inquiry report together with the comments of the concerned Government or authority, if any, and the action taken or proposed to be taken by the concerned Government or authority on the recommendations of the Commission.

Procedure with respect to armed forces

  1. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, while dealing with complaints of violation of human rights by members of the armed forces, the Commission shall adopt the following procedure, namely :-
    1. It may, either on its own motion or on receipt of a petition, seek a report from the Central Government
    2. After the receipt of the report, it may, either not proceed with the complaint or, as the case may be, make its recommendations to that Government.
  2. The Central Government shall inform the Commission of the action taken on the recommendations within three months or such further time as the Commission may allow.
  3. The Commission shall publish its report together with its recommendations made to the Central Government and the action taken by that Government on such recommendations.
  4. The Commission shall provide a copy of the report published under sub-section (3) to the petitioner or his representative.

Annual and special reports of the Commission

  1. The Commission shall submit an annual report to the Central Government and to the State Government concerned and may at any time submit special reports on any matter which, in its opinion, is of such urgency or importance that it should not be deferred till submission of the annual report.
  2. The Central Government and the State Government, as the case may be, shall cause the annual and special reports of the Commission to be laid before each House of Parliament or the State Legislature respectively, as the case may be, along with a memorandum of action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations of the Commission and the reasons for non-acceptance of the recommendations, if any.

Composition

After an official comment from Supreme court[3] Justice Prakash Chandra Tatia, former Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court was appointed as the Chairperson,[4] his name was recommended along with Shri Chandramohan Meena as Member and Shri Ashutosh Sharma as an expert, by two selection committees headed by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia.[5]

Present team

Name Designation From
Justice Gangaram MoolchandaniChairperson --
Shri Mahesh Goyal Member --
Shri Ashutosh Sharma Member --
Shri H. R. Kuri Member 1 September 2011
Dr. M. K. Devarajan Member 1 September 2011
Shri Janga Srinivas Rao Secretary 5 April 2010
Smt. Sanchita Bishnoi Deputy Secretary 30 March 2012
Shri P. R. Pandit Secretary 3 March 2014
Shri Saurabh Srivastava Director General Police 3 March 2014

Earlier Shri H. R. Kuri was heading the commission as an Acting Chairman since the position become vacant after the former Chief Justice Nagendra Kumar Jain from Madras and Karnataka High Court, completed his tenure as the Chairperson from 16 July 2005 till 15 July 2010.[6]

Former Chairmen & Members

Name Designation From Till
Justice Kanta Kumari BhatnagarChairperson 23 March 200011 August 2000
Justice Saiyed Saghir AhmadChairperson 16 February 2001 3 June 2004
Chairperson 16 July 2005 15 July 2010
Justice Amar Singh Godara Member 7 July 2000 6 July 2005
Shri R. K. Akodia Member 25 March 2000 24 March 2005
Shri B. L. Joshi Member 25 March 2000 31 March 2004
Prof. Alamshah Kahan Member24 March 2000 16 May 2003
Shri Namo Narayan Meena Member 11 September 2003 23 March 2004
Shri Dharam Singh Meena Member 7 July 2005 6 July 2010
Justice Jagat Singh Member 10 October 2005 9 October 2010
Shri Pukhraj Sirvi Member 15 April 2004 13 April 2011

Reports

The commission had assessed a sum of 17,033 incidents between 2010~2014 with the highest number of incidents reported from Jaipur followed by Ajmer out of 33 districts. A comprehensive district and incident wise, report is annually published by the commission reflecting status of the incidents along with some of the important and major rulings by the commission each year.[7]

From !Till Child !Health Prison !Gang Labor !SC / ST Police !Pollution Religious !Woman Others !Rejected[8] Total
1 April 200431 March 200513439419011981916299212520023272
1 April 200531 March 2006 185084480841867124813011223173735
1 April 200631 March 2007[9] 2030803812161002165415815823063890
1 April 200731 March 2008[10] 243863080827997173318631721263844
1 April 200831 March 2009[11] 3634572606391121142719133120953977
1 April 200931 March 2010[12] 1805981610396768081914240715263251
1 April 2010 31 March 2011 35 22 126 211 08 48 842 14 34 172 285 1777 3574 - 1 April 2011 31 March 2012 29 45 114 117 10 35 1175 20 36 181 288 1871 3921 - 1 April 2012 31 March 2013 29 117 112 55 07 20 1371 21 37 101 905 2177 4952 - 1 April 2013 31 March 2014 17 68 91 17 06 02 1375 03 31 32 1052 1892 4586

Significant incidents

Some of the recent incidents which brought Human Rights concerns in the state of Rajasthan under News are:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: National Human Rights Commission, India. 2020-11-11.
  2. Web site: Former Chairman & Members | Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission . 2017-07-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150520103644/http://rshrc.rajasthan.gov.in/former-chairman-members.htm . 2015-05-20 .
  3. News: SC raps Rajasthan over headless state rights panel. IANS. 2015-09-18. Business Standard India. 2017-07-31.
  4. News: Ex-Jharkhand HC CJ appointed as SHRC chief: Rajasthan govt to SC. 2015-11-06. Zee News. 2017-07-31. en.
  5. News: मानवाधिकार आयोग के अध्यक्ष होंगे जस्टिस टाटिया. 2017-07-31.
  6. News: Vacancies in state Human Rights panel; SC slams Rajasthan. 2017-07-31.
  7. Web site: Annual Progress Report | Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission . 2015-12-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151226231329/http://rshrc.rajasthan.gov.in/annual-reports.htm . 2015-12-26 .
  8. Web site: Not without their grandson. 9 August 2015. indianexpress.com.
  9. Web site: HRS for the year 2006-07. 2020-11-11.
  10. Web site: HRS for the year 2007-08. 2020-11-11.
  11. Web site: HRS for the year 2008-09. 2020-11-11.
  12. Web site: HRS of the year 2009-10. 2020-11-11.
  13. Web site: Human rights panel takes note of Hawa Devi's plight - Times of India. indiatimes.com.
  14. Web site: Hema Malini accident: RSHRC issues notice to police, local authorities. oneindia.com.
  15. Web site: RSHRC seeks report on student suicides in Kota - Times of India. indiatimes.com.
  16. Web site: Kota registers its 30th student suicide, numbs district administration - Times of India. indiatimes.com.
  17. Web site: Sikar rape: 2 ragpickers held, 3 cops suspended - Times of India. indiatimes.com.
  18. Web site: Debating Santhara: This Jain practice is not suicide, but Indian laws don't see it that way - Firstpost. www.firstpost.com.
  19. Web site: The Jain religion and the right to die by Santhara. 2 September 2015. indianexpress.com.
  20. News: A reductive reading of Santhara. Visvanathan. Shiv. 2015-08-24. The Hindu. 2019-06-17. en-IN. 0971-751X.
  21. Web site: RAC's 11th battalion accuses ADG of corruption, writes to DGP for action. 20 December 2015. indianexpress.com.
  22. Web site: Cops strip woman in Ajmer police station - Times of India. indiatimes.com.
  23. Web site: News7 – Prameya News7, News7 Odia, Odisha Latest News, Odisha Current Headlines, Odisha News Online. en-US. 2019-06-17.
  24. Web site: human rights commission take action, ask to submit report, Jaipur News in Hindi – सैक्स स्केंडल..मानवाधिकार आयोग ने मांगी रिपोर्ट, परमज्योति करेंगी जांच. patrika.com.
  25. Web site: Latest News, India, Bengal News, Breaking News, Opinion, Bollywood News, Cricket, Football - The Statesman. The Statesman.
  26. Web site: Pokhran village wants radiation level checked - Times of India. indiatimes.com.
  27. Web site: Debilitating effect of silicosis. Aarti. Dhar. 8 April 2015. www.thehindu.com.
  28. Web site: Amend Mines Act to contain silicosis: Rajasthan HRC. Aarti. Dhar. 5 April 2015. www.thehindu.com.
  29. Web site: Fair compensation for land acquired by govt is farmer's human right: SC - Times of India. indiatimes.com.
  30. Web site: Home guards demand regularisation of jobs - Times of India. indiatimes.com.

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