Home ministry drags feet on NHRC annual reports

Home ministry drags feet on NHRC annual reports
KOTA NEELIMA

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 4: The annual reports of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) have been getting delayed due to a lack of response from the Ministry of Home Affairs. As a result the `latest' report of the NHRC is two years old.

The report for 1997-98 was tabled in Parliament in February this year. The next report, for 1998-99, was completed by the NHRC in March 1999 and submitted to the Ministry but it is yet to be placed in Parliament.

This delay has affected formulation of the report for 1999-2000, which is expected to list the largest number of violations reported to it so far. On an average, the NHRC receives 100 complaints from all over the country.

The reason for the delay by the Ministry is primarily the delay in finalising the action taken report (ATR) which needs to be placed along with the NHRC's report in Parliament.

The Ministry, according to procedure, has to specify the action taken in each of the cases in various categories, ranging from custodial deaths and torture to rehabilitation and reforms. Unless the ATR on the earlier reports is submitted, the NHRC cannot formulate recommendations for the next report.

``There are categories of cases in which the recommendations of the NHRC have to be reiterated in every report. That is because the Ministry's reports miss out on certain points and are not to NHRC's satisfaction,'' says N. Gopalaswamy, Secretary-General of the NHRC.

While the ATR takes a long time to come, even when it does, it does not satisfactorily answer the questions listed by the NHRC, senior officials at the NHRC feel. Some issues on where the MHA has steered clear of committing itself are prison reforms, custodial deaths and rehabilitation of displaced persons and refugees.

``There is a communication gap between what the NHRC says and what the authorities feel in case of violations. But that has to be bridged very soon if there has to be a more effective and satisfactory human rights situation in the country,'' a senior official in the Ministry which is handling the affairs of the NHRC says.

``There are various state governments involved in the ATR on annual reports. And while replying we also have to consider many issues like security of a state. In any case, an ATR on such matters does take time,'' he adds.

In the past, the views of the NHRC and the MHA have been at variance on issues like custodial deaths and the proposal for ``banning'' torture in police custody. And take this observation in the NHRC's report for 1997-98 on prison reforms and criminal justice: ``The Commission would reiterate the recommendations contained in its preceding report and express the hope that the Memorandum of Action Taken on the present report would reflect in positive terms the outcome of the processing being undertaken by the Government.''

The Commission forecasts in the report, ``Passivity in this respect and any further delay in implementing reforms in regard to the criminal justice system can lead to a situation that will slip irretrievably out of control.''