Reacting to Amnesty International's criticism that the NHRC has shied away from its task by arguing that it can have only a limited role in ensuring redress to the affected families while acting under the Supreme Court's direction, the NHRC Secretary General S Gopalaswami stated that the NHRC is a statutory body which has to act in accordance with the law.

He said under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 the NHRC could not investigate human rights violations which had occurred more than one year ago, however, the Supreme Court after hearing a couple of petitions regarding the alleged illegal cremation of thousands of bodies by the Punjab police between 1984 to 1994, empowered the commission toinvestigate the case even after a lapse of many years.

In a recent report titled India: A Vital Opportunity to End Impunity in Punjab, the Amnesty International has expressed dissatisfaction over the self proposed ``minimum role'' the NHRC has been playing in probing alleged excesses during the militancy period in Punjab and suggested setting up of an alternative body for a ``thorough investigation.''

``In the event that the NHRC does not pursue a thorough investigation, Amnesty International believes that the Government of India has a responsibility to appoint some other body with powers to impartially investigate past human rights violations...'', the London-based human rights organisation said. ``Over two-and-a-half years, there has been no comprehensive or consistent investigation into the allegations of human rights violations contained in the petitions, the Amnesty said.