Haryana Human Rights Commission Stays Memberless, People Deprived Of Platform To Lodge Complaints

The Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) has come to a standstill, while the ‘Gau Seva’ panel in the state has 16 members, according to a report by The Wire. The report indicated that the post of the HHRC chairperson had been lying vacant for the last 19 months and the post of the two other members has not been filled for the past five months. Out of the 83 sanctioned posts, 34 posts were also lying vacant.

The petition

PP Kapoor, an RTI activist and Jan Abhiyan Manch member filed a petition on January 12. The response to the petition revealed that the state human rights commission has fallen prey to the criminal neglect of the state government, as reported by The Wire. “The fact that key posts in the commission are lying vacant while the Haryana government has filled all 16 posts in the state Gau Seva Aayog (commission for the welfare of bovines) clearly indicates how insensitive the Khattar government is towards human rights. It also reflects on the fact that the priority of this government is not the welfare of human beings,” Kapoor said.

Kapoor also said that 2,205 cases were pending with the commission, and no decisions were taken on them. Of these, 800 complaints were filed in the last five months alone. He urged the National Human Rights Commission and the President of India to intervene in the issue.

Haryana Human Rights Commission

Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) was formed in September 2012. Kapoor said that its annual budget was Rs 2.5 crore and it had reached Rs 6.5 crore during 2017-18. He pointed out that the funds would be getting wasted with posts of chairperson and two members lying vacant.

Vijendra Jain, former chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, was the last chairperson of the Haryana Human Rights Commission. He stepped down from the office on August 1, 2016. Till now, the post has not been filled up. Justice HS Bhalla and retired IAS officer JS Ahlawat were the last two members of the commission. Both of them retired on September 20, 2017. These posts also have not been filled.

Kapoor said that there were several instances in the state where Dalits and minorities were attacked and most of the complainants had come from these groups. “During the rule of the current BJP government in the state, nearly 90 people have been killed by the police or other security forces in various incidents of violence including those that took place during the Jat reservation agitation, the Dera Sacha Sauda episode or the Rampal ashram siege,” Kapoor said.