National Human Rights Commission Orders 15 Lakh Compensation To Three North-Eastern States- Here's Why

The National Human Rights Commission has ordered Rs 15 lakh compensation to 19 cases heard from three North-Eastern states, namely Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura. The bench heard six cases from Meghalaya, three from Mizoram, and ten from Tripura.

The National Human Rights Commission had organized a 'Camp Sitting and Public Open Hearing' at Shillong, the first camp since the beginning of the pandemic, to hear cases of rights violation from three North-Eastern states, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, for two days, on 14th and 15th of December 2021. Justice M.M. Kumar, Member, NHRC inaugurated the camp, and the panel members were, NHRC Members Dr D.M. Mulay and Rajiv Jain, Secretary-General Bimbadhar Pradhan, and other senior officers of the Commission and State Government as reported by the Economic Times.

A Deep Dive Into The Matter

Nineteen cases pertaining to rights violation was heard during the camp in a single sitting. The cases were heard in the presence of public authorities and complainants. The list of cases included older cases that were not addressed by the governments and newly registered cases. Some of the prominent cases discussed at the camp were a case of rape of a minor by a paramilitary official, two cases of death of workers in an illegal mine, one judicial custody death, and other remaining cases.

The bench ordered that Rs 7 lakhs be paid to the survivor of the rape case by the paramilitary officer. For the earlier cases where compensation was ordered, Rs 3 lakhs for the encounter death in Meghalaya and Rs. 5 lakhs for rights violation case in police custody in Mizoram, the commission is asking for proof of payment from the states. On Tuesday, during a meeting with Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police, states were asked to submit the action-taken reports of the 22 advisories of the commission.

NHRC member Justice M.M. Kumar said the role of rights defenders and civil society representatives was crucial and should have due participation in the process of protection and promotion of rights as per The Hindu report. To create awareness on human rights and press for speedy justice of cases, the commission has been holding 'Open Hearing and Camp Sittings' since 2007 across the states and has organized 40 camps so far. The commission will hold its next camp in Guwahati on Thursday to hear 31 cases from Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Violation Of Human Rights

The Human Rights violation in the North-East has sparked protests in recent times due to the civilian killings by the Army. Nagaland has currently started a non-cooperation movement placing certain demands to be met, one among them being the repeal of AFSPA from the whole of North-East.To create awareness on human rights and press for speedy justice of cases, the commission has been holding 'Open Hearing and Camp Sittings' since 2007 across the states and has organized 40 camps so far. The commission will hold its next camp in Guwahati on Thursday to hear 31 cases from Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Human Rights violation in the North-East has sparked protests in recent times due to the civilian killings by the Army. Nagaland has currently started a non-cooperation movement placing certain demands to be met, one among them being the repeal of AFSPA from the whole of North-East.

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