The inauguration ceremony for the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) two-day camp sitting to hear pending cases of alleged human rights violations from the State of Maharashtra, was held at the Sahyadri Guest House, Mumbai today, January 11.
NHRC Member Dr. D. M. Mulay inaugurated the camp sitting in the presence of NHRC Member Rajiv Jain, members of the State Human Rights Commission and senior officers of the Maharashtra government.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. D. M. Mulay, said that the camp sitting is a unique concept which has successfully covered twenty-two states of the country. The camp sitting gives an opportunity to the Commission to come to people’s doorsteps and interact with them on a face to face basis. Dr. Mulay lauded the central government and all the state governments for giving phenomenal response to this initiative. He further expressed that such sittings also allow the NHRC to engage with the State Human Rights Commission and the State government. This enables the NHRC to understand the best practices evolved by various authorities to protect human rights. Creation of awareness among citizens regarding protection of human rights is an important aspect of protection of human rights. The camp sitting aims to fulfil this important aim.
Informing the audience regarding the contribution of the NHRC in protecting human rights, Mr. Mulay said that the commission receives approximately one lakh complaints every year out of which eighty thousand are successfully resolved by the Commission. The Commission has now also enabled online submission of complaints and documents in addition to physical submission.
In his inaugural address, Rajeev Jain, member NHRC gave various suggestions that can be implemented by the state governments to improve the protection of human rights in the state. Compensation for deaths in judicial custody, creation of a human rights cell, implementation of the Clinical Establishments Act and improvement of mental health institutions were some of them. He also expressed that cases relating to violation of human rights arise even in non-police matters and the civil administration is an equal player in protection of human rights.
The inauguration was followed by the Commission hearing pending cases of human rights violations. The cases relate to death due to negligence of the Electricity Department, denial of retirement benefits, irregularities in Nagpur Central Jail, alleged negligence to protect the fundamental human rights of people belonging to the ‘Koli’ community, death of eleven people in a building collapse, incidents of bonded labour involving child labourers and others.
The commission will continue to hear cases on Thursday, January 12, 2023, the second and concluding day of the camp sitting. Thereafter, the Commission will be meeting the representatives of NGOs and Human Rights Defenders from 2-3 pm, the Commission will brief the media about the outcome of the camp sitting in order to have wider dissemination of information on human rights issues in the State and the actions taken by the Commission.
On January 13, 2023, the NHRC Members, Dr. D. M. Mulay, and Rajiv Jain will be holding an interactive session with the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission in the forenoon, with a view to discuss common issues including the use of common platform – HRCNet Portal, transfer of cases to the SHRC and other related issues. In the afternoon, they will attend an interactive session on “Protection of Human Rights of Women”, which is being organized by the Maharashtra State Commission for Women. The overall objective of the programme is to draw focus on an integrated policy and strategy that addresses economic, social and political empowerment of women in Maharashtra.
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