EMN
Dimapur, January 11
State home department has issued a notification about setting up of Nagaland State Human Rights Commission.
Accordingly, the State Human Rights Commission shall be headed by a chairperson who has been a chief justice of a High Court, one member who has been a judge of a High Court and another member from amongst persons having knowledge of, or practical experience in matters relating to Human Rights. There shall also be a secretary who shall be the chief executive officer of the State Commission (in the rank of Joint Secretary).
The chairperson and members of the State Human Rights Commission shall be appointed by a committee headed by the Chief Minister and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the State Home Minister and Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly as members.
The official report said, the salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of the chairperson and members shall be as prescribed by the State government.
The investigating wing of the commission shall be headed by a superintendent of police, 1 inspector, 3 sub-inspectors, 6 constables, 3 drivers and 3 peons. The officers and staffs of the investigative wing shall be deployed by the Director General of Police, Nagaland.
The commission shall submit annual and special reports to the State government to be laid before the State Legislative Assembly along with memorandum of action taken or proposed to be taken and reasons for non-acceptance of the recommendations, if any.
Nagaland is a ripe case to have State Human Rights Commission. With the fast rising cases of human rights violation the setting up of such human rights panel will help ease the hardship faced by the people. Under the protection of the Human Rights Act, 1993, states in India need to set up human rights commissions to monitor the cases. However, it is a sad story that even 22 years after such Act was passed the state of Nagaland is yet to see one. The Supreme Court has been reminding that “it is the statutory duty of the state governments to set up state human rights commissions as their absence makes access to justice by the victims of the human rights violation an illusion”. The Apex Court has also been directing Nagaland and other states including Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura and even Delhi to have human rights commissions.
As per the Supreme Court judgment, the “power of the state governments under Section 21 to set up state human rights commission in their respective areas/territories is not a power simpliciter but a power coupled with the duty to exercise such power.”
