SHRC rendered dysfunctional in Omar Govt

Commission working without 2 members, IGP, other staff

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Apr 1: During Omar Abdullah-led coalition government, fate of the much hyped Jammu & Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is just a little different than other fully dysfunctional autonomous bodies---J&K State Accountability Commission, J&K State Information Commission et al. Government has announced formation of Truth and Reconciliation Commission in March and constituted J&K State Vigilance Commission in February this year but neither of the two has been provided staff and other logistics.

While three successive Chairmen’s repeated requests to provide an IGP rank officer for supervising investigation have fallen on deaf ears of successive governments, strength of the commission reduced to just a Chairman and one-odd member.

In the annual report for 2009-10, Omar Abdullah government first year, Chairman SHRC, Syed Bashiruddin, has lamented that the conditions that forced former Chairman, Justice Rtd Ali Mohammad Mir, to resign during Mufti Mohammad’s government, were still existing. The report was tabled in the Legislative Assembly today.

“The Commission has worked and is working with depleted strength of two during the period under report (2009-10). The often repeated requests, DO’s/ SOs for appointment of Commission members have yielded so far no results”, Mr Justice Rtd Syed Bashiruddin has recorded in the introduction. He has pointed out that only the Chairman and one member functioned at SHRC during 2009-10 as two members, namely Habibullah Bhat and B N Tingloo, retired.

Sources in the government, however, insisted that one vacancy of member was likely to be filled up in a month. They disputed the official version and asserted that Chairman Syed Bashiruddin and Member, A R Khan, had got the third member, namely Javed Ahmed Kawoosa, two months before the annual report was tabled in Assembly. They said that the government was also in search of the 4^th member for the SHRC.

Government is supposed to provide a Police team, headed by an IGP, for the purpose of investigation to the SHRC. “However, the investigating team has been without the services of an Inspector General of Police throughout the period (2009-10). No IGP is posted in the Commission. Even the Police personnel, to be part investigative staff is not posted in full strength”, Chairman has complained.

With identical complaints, besides no-action on annual reports and recommendations of the Commission by the state government, then Chairman SHRC, Justice Rtd Ali Mohammad Mir, had resigned in 2005.

In the report on 2009-10, Chairman SHRC has further recorded: “The Commission has also reviewed the depleted staff strength and difficulties faced thereto in the meetings of the Commission and in the meetings at various levels with Law Department and other officials, followed by that matter, being appropriately taken up with Government”.

“The Commission has faced difficulties in discharge of its duties and for the purpose, the Commission’s Chairperson took up the matter with His Excellency the Governor of J&K State during Governor’s rule and thereafter with the elected government by addressing DOs to Chief Minister and Law Minister and other concerned dignitaries and authorities of the State Government, thereby inter alia, the amendments have been proposed to J&K Protection of Human Rights Act, 1999, and need-based requirements qua infrastructure, staff, finances, logistics etc have been pinpointed to be met. These have been taken up appropriately with the Government via reports, DOs and other communications. Same are pending with the Government. No decisions to the knowledge of Commission have been taken thereto during the period under report”, it added.

Nevertheless, there has been remarkable decrease in matters of human rights abuse by the government agencies. During 2009-10, SHRC has received 467 complaints of which 249 were addressed.

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