Random musings and observations about the state of human rights and human rights laws, democracy, justice, secularism, peace and, off course, the life and all its paraphernalia with particular reference to Barak valley.
India needs to Reform its Law Enforcement System, Justice Delivery System and India also needs to be held accountable for these type of human rights violations and travesty of justice and that can be possible to a lesser extent if India ratifies Optional Protocol to ICCPR, CAT and the Statutes of International Criminal Court
The President of India, The Chief Justice of India, The Prime Minister of India, The Home Minister of India, The Law Minister of India, The U.P.A. Chairperson Mrs. Sonia Gandhi
We the people of India had hoped after Jessica Lal�s case that such a travesty of justice will never happen again. Yet it has happened and with a vehemence which takes our breath away. Ruchika was not Jessica though both were innocent victims. Ruchika was a child and Jessica was an adult. She was doing her job and Ruchika was just playing tennis. The killer was not a drunken arrogant young man but middle aged Inspector General of Police and he was not drunk with liquor though blind with lust and power. Jessica�s killer ran away trying to hide himself, here is a man who followed the child for nearly four years till she committed suicide. SPS Rathore, the animal, the barbarian and the scheming crook, cooked up seven cases, against Ruchika brother, stoned the house, hounded the little child, influenced the school, and did everything vile deed to drive Ruchika to death. This much we know, what we do not know, is what kind of other men were governing our country who do not do their plain duty, which led to this tragedy. Let us name them and shame them and heap curses on them and if possible bring them to book. The first man is the area SHO (Station House Officer) of the police station whose plain duty was to register the crime as FIR and investigate it. He failed. The then DGP RR Singh, who comes on TV screens and meekly says I, was under political pressure. No one has yet asked him, is it your duty to yield under pressure. A DGP needs no permission from the Home Secretary or Minister or Chief Minister to register the crime and commence the investigation. He never did his duty. Unworthy of the post he was holding. Same goes for the Home Secretary and the SP In charge of Panchkula. The Minister�s burden and that of the Chief Minister comes much later but they also need to answer why they applied pressure though it does not exonerate the officials whose first duty under the law is to with stand all pressure and do what is required to be done. For registration of an FIR no once permission is needed. It is as simple as that. Next is the role of the school Principal, whose first duty was to counsel the child, protect the child and not to concoct a ground for rustication at the behest of an animal, a barbarian and a crook. Lastly the role of the policemen who concocted the false cases and tortured the brother of Ruchika and stoned her house and used to follow her. Who is that man who had telephoned the father of Ruchika even on the day of the judgment? We must unmask all these animals. Even the CBI Investigation Officer cannot escape from the stark truth that he did not framed the charge sheet correctly and did not include the charge of abetment to suicide. He made it simply outraging the modesty of women knowing very well that she is no more and circumstances are too big to be ignored. We must appreciate the Judicial Magistrate First Class of Ambala who charged the animal, the barbarian and the crook with abetment to suicide but alas for every good judge in the sub-ordinate judiciary, you have a fool or a dishonest or an approachable High Court judge. Let us find out in which category former High Court judge RC Kathuria fits in, who allowed the petition of the animal, the barbarian and the crook, and quashed the charge of abetment to suicide. Let us also find out the name of the Hon�ble Supreme Court judges who dismissed the appeal against the foolish decision of the High Court and thus allowed the animal to escape the just punishment. It is an old saying that let heavens fall but justice must be done. Now is the moment to invoke the heaven, break the rules, bend the procedure and catch these crooks lurking in the system from the police station to the Supreme Court and to blacken their faces and do everything else to hound them, to sham them and to punish them. We the people of India demand that all the above said or anyone who has played a role in miscarriage of justice in Ruchika�s case be punished along with SPS Rathore and be brought to justice. Yours Truly, People of India.
An all-party delegation from Silchar would visit Delhi next month to place its demand before the Union Home Ministry for changing the nomenclature of Silchar railway station as “Bhasha Shahid Station.” This was decided in a meeting held at the Silchar Book Fair recently.
It is to be noted that responding to public demand, the State Government as well as Railway Ministry agreed to change the name of the railway station in respect to the 11 language martyrs who sacrificed their lives on May 19, 1961 at the Silchar Railway Station. But, the Union Ministry later rejected the demand stating that policy guidelines regarding the change of nomenclature of village, city, towns, railway station etc. on grounds of local patriotism or linguistic was not possible.
My Comments:
To honour the Language Martyrs is something that is we all owe to those great souls. And It is also very good thing to get united across party line in order to do something purportedly to honour the martyrs. But questions come as to the manner of honouring them.
It is understood that they wanted to honour them by chaging the name of the Railway Station where they were martyred and by naming after them. But, perhaps, one has to see first whether the railway station in question is still worth the name of a railway station. It is a station which has no connection with rest of world through rail lines that are present day standard lines/tracks in India, I mean, broad gauge lines. Silchar Rail Way Station has not link with other station through a broad gauge line. So, the Station itself is hardly a name of railway station. It would be appropriate in order to honour the martyrs to demand the immediate completion of works on broad gauge line connecting Silchar to Lumding. Because, for lack of proper rail communication people of Barak Valley, for whose sake the martyrs tendered the supreme sacrifice, are suffering from all conceivable hardships ranging from such hike in the prices of essential commodities that can't be found in any other parts of the country, lack of educational facilities, lack of industrialization to frequent accidents in the national high way along the jagged hills of Meghalaya claiming hundreds of lives often.
And we should honour the martyr by fighting to bring to book those who killed them without provocation and get their families rehabilitated. It is necessary to end the regime of impunity and which in turn is inevitable if we want to prevent the repetition of such inhuman atrocities upon those who fight for justice peacefully.
We laso should honour the language and the people who speak it by fighting for their all rights guaranteed under the constitution and international human rights standards.
We can build memorial structures at the very spot where they were shot at.
In fine, what we should do is to first make the Railway Station a true Railway station having links with other stations by up to date rail tracks. We need to renew fight for justice for the martyrs.
Delegation to visit Delhi on changing nomenclature issue
SILCHAR, Dec 28: An all-party delegation from Silchar would visit Delhi next month to place its demand before the Union Home Ministry for changing the nomenclature of Silchar railway station as “Bhasha Shahid Station.” This was decided in a meeting held at the Silchar Book Fair recently.
It is to be noted that responding to public demand, the State Government as well as Railway Ministry agreed to change the name of the railway station in respect to the 11 language martyrs who sacrificed their lives on May 19, 1961 at the Silchar Railway Station. But, the Union Ministry later rejected the demand stating that policy guidelines regarding the change of nomenclature of village, city, towns, railway station etc. on grounds of local patriotism or linguistic was not possible.
The Home Ministry’s decision evoked severe criticism from the people in Barak Valley and various organizations staged demonstration and brought out protest rallies against it. Silchar MP Kabindra Purkayastha had already raised the matter in the Lok Sabha while former Union Minister Sontosh Mohan Dev had sought the intervention of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram after being assured by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi that the State Government had no objection in changing the nomenclature of the railway station.
The meeting was convened by district Trinamool Congress president Paritosh Paul Choudhury who played a vital role in the 1961 language movement. District Congress president Karnendu Bhattacharjee, AIUDF leaders Arun Dey, Nabadwip Das, Aamra Bangali leader Sadhan Purkayastha and Dr NI Laskar of NCP also attended the meeting. Though none from the BJP was present in the meeting, the district president extended his support to the decision taken in the meeting. THE SENTINEL
India: Law-enforcement agencies need to be made accountable to the rule of law
Asian Human Rights Commission Press release
December 2, 2009
The Indian media often report with contempt the killing and maiming of the citizens by non-state actors. The limited debate in the country upon the issue is centred on the illegitimacy of violence used by the terrorists, insurgents and armed resistance movements, and is highly polarised. Except for the effort of a few publications like the Tehelka, the deliberations so far have missed a crucial aspect, the issue of disproportionate use of violence by the state upon its own citizens.
The significance of this subject is on the logic that the state is the custodian of the law and is principally responsible for governing by the rule of law. It implies that the state must ensure equality before the law and must not allow the arbitrary abuse of authority and power by its agencies. Further, it casts a legal obligation upon the state that it can resort to force only through legitimate and controlled procedures, that too in extraordinary circumstances where the lives of its citizens are under immediate threat.
The constitutional framework in the country that guarantees rule of law to its citizens thus restricts the state from unleashing disproportionate violence upon its citizens. Unfortunately, the Indian state is engaged in systematically negating this legal premise for the past several years.
A cursory glance at the statistics produced by the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC), brings this fact to the fore. From April 2001 to March 2009, the NHRC has recorded 1184 deaths in police custody; which is murder committed by the police, without any sanction or approval of a court of law. Further analysis of this data brings out even more startling facts.
Most of these murders have taken place in relatively calm and problem-free states in the country, with Maharashtra state having the dubious distinction of topping the list with 192 murders. The other states ranked high in the list are Uttar Pradesh (128), Gujarat (113), Andhra Pradesh (85) and West Bengal (83). All these states are within the peaceful and prosperous parts of the country, with no insurgent activities.
It becomes apparent what would be the state of affairs in states like the Jammu and Kashmir, and in the seven states forming the Northeastern territory of the country where armed insurgent activities have been going on for the past 60 years. Deaths in police custody and extra judicial executions in fake encounters are rampant in these states, and the perpetrators of the crime go unpunished. For instance, in a recent statement, the Director General of Police in Manipur state, Mr. Y Joykumar Singh, said that in the past eleven months his officers have murdered more than 260 persons. Of course, the officer added that all those who are killed are terrorists, murdered in armed encounters.
It is a fact that these statistics is a gross underestimation of the actual numbers since only very few cases reach the NHRC and/or judiciary. The reason behind this is that often the victims' families, being from the most underprivileged backgrounds, have no means or the courage to approach the courts. The complete absence of a witness protection programme or even a law to that effect, coupled with court delays often makes complaining against the law enforcement agency a suicidal act in the country.
Further, in states like Manipur, the security forces have unlimited and unaccounted power to carryout their operations under the statutory protection of the draconian law, The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958. This law allows even a non-commissioned officer to shoot to kill based on mere suspicion in order to "maintain public order".
The euphemism, "to maintain public order" is widely misused by the security forces for unleashing unbridled terror where they operate, thus supporting a trigger-happy culture of governance. The July 23 killing of Mr. Chongkham Sanjit and Ms. Rabina Devi in Manipur, exposes the degree of lawlessness resorted to by the security forces in these areas. For further information please see: AHRC-UAC-098-2009.
Placed in this context, the recent developments in the country have been highly disturbing. Despite all the evidences pointing to the worthlessness of the idea in delivering peace to the disturbed areas by use of force, the state is increasing its pitch for declaring war on its own people. Even more unsettling is the fact that the union home minister himself leads the campaign.
An example of this is the home ministry's argument for a cohesive, clinical and all out operation against the Maoists named as Operation Green Hunt. What is missing in the aggressive rhetoric for a war on Maoists is the question about the people living in the area -- poor, hapless tribal -- marginalised to the peripheries of the Indian state for long. Caught between two warring parties armed to the teeth, the tribal pay the heaviest price in this battle.
Yet, they are nowhere cited in the public discourse. The only occasion they appeared to be included in the discussion was when the government decided to withdraw more than 100000 cases against the tribal 'to win their hearts and minds'. Cases that were slapped on them for 'stealing' firewood, honey and other minor forest produce and a constant source of their exploitation by the police and the forest department were withdrawn.
The government did not care to answer why these cases were charged against them in the first place! After all, they have been living in these forests for centuries and the forest belonged to them. Why did it take an armed rebellion to force the state to think about their plight, and why the government could not act on its own for this long are two important questions that are yet to be answered.
Similar is the case with the people of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, the Jammu and Kashmir and other states hit by insurgent activities in the country. The people residing in these states are compelled to resort to war like efforts just to ensure survival. Day after day, they are forced to walk through an alarmingly reducing narrow corridor of neutral space, maintaining equal distance from the sate and the non-state actors. In addition, the state does not help its case for garnering their support by the amount of terror it unleashes. After all, the state is the legal guardian of all its citizens, for it is the state who had solemnly promised and which had been bestowed the authority under the constitution to protect and preserve the inalienable human rights of its citizens.
For this reason alone, extrajudicial executions committed by the police and other state agencies deserve not only the strongest condemnation but also concentrated action against them. The deaths in police custody, committed with impunity provided by the uniform and authority, instigates not only public anger and protest but also hatred towards the state. The insurgents, whichever colour they belong to, tap this hatred for mobilising people into an armed rebellion against the state.
For this reason, declaring a war on its own people is a humongous error of judgment on the part of the state. What the state needs to do is reengaging those who are up against it, addressing all their concerns. The state also needs to go for a systematic and systemic overhaul of the system and correcting the flaws within the administration at the earliest. For this, it is elementary to conduct a revision of state policies ensuring public participation.
Further, guaranteeing equality before the law and ensuring punishment to the perpetrators of violence including those enjoying political power is required. The country needs to put an immediate end to murder in police custody and fake encounters. Those who are responsible for committing these acts must be prosecuted, with no exception to incidents that have happened in the past. The government needs to put people in command of their life, their habitat and resources and stop the state-sponsored corporate plunder of natural resources. The future, otherwise, does not seem that bright.
The Supreme Court of India has repeatedly warned the government that 'custodial torture, violence and killing' as 'a naked violence of human dignity' and a 'calculated assault' upon the people and their fundamental rights. The judgments delivered in the D.K. Basu and the Bhajan Kaur cases categorically declare that it is the state's duty to ensure that persons live, behave, and are treated like human beings. The state must neither condone nor tolerate deprivation, oppression and violation of the right to life and liberty.
Yet, custodial killings in India have assumed alarming proportions, that it has adversely affected the belief of the citizens in the rule of law and the administration of justice in the country. Arbitrary misuse of authority with statutory impunity has also demoralised the security agencies in the country. If the functionaries of the state become lawbreakers, it results in a situation where might means right, leading to lawlessness and anarchy.
The Supreme Court has also directed the government that it must undertake innovative measures to deal with terrorism and has said that 'state terrorism would only provide legitimacy to terrorism which is against the rule of law'. The state must thus ensure that its agents deployed for combating terrorism acts within the bounds of law and do not become law unto themselves.
India cannot afford to kill anymore of its citizens without plummeting into a state of anarchy. The prophetic vision of the court has proved to be true. It is now the duty of the state to undo its wrongs and prevent the ensuing anarchy.
It is time for the government to put an immediate end to the use of arbitrary means in dealing with dissent to safeguard the life and liberty of the citizens. The government cannot reject its constitutional and sacred duty to the citizens by becoming the unlawful arbiter and the executioner of humanity.
A Press Release from Human Rights Alert (HRA), Imphal, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), says:
Independent Citizens Fact Finding Mission to Manipur, Imphal Press Release
A team of concerned citizens comprising of Dr. K. S. Subramanian IPS, formerly of the Manipur-Tripura cadre and currently visiting professor, Jamia Millia University, New Delhi; Mr. Sumit Chakravartty, Editor, Mainstream; Ms. Kavita Srivastava, National Secretary People’s Union for Civil Loberties; and Ms. Vasundhara Jairath of Delhi Solidarity Group is on a fact finding mission in Manipur from November 5. The mission was undertaken in the wake of heightened tensions in the state since July 2009.
Mr. Prabhash Joshi, veteran Hindi journalist and a consistent voice against violation of human rights, who was to join the team on November 6 and had expressed grave concern over the situation in Manipur, asking his doctor to allow him to make this visit, passed away due to a cardiac arrest on the 5th night. We are shocked and saddened by this sudden loss. His undoubting commitment to justice, peace, and free speech shall continue to inspire everyone, particularly in the field of journalism.
Our Terms of References are:
- Visit and interact with families of those killed in alleged fake encounters;
- Take account of the number of people killed, arrested, tortured, detained, etc by forces;
- Interact with those in jail or those released after detention/arrest;
- Meet the Chief Minister, and other officials concerned with the law and order situation;
- Prepare a narrative and photo documentation of the visit;
- Compile a comprehensive report of the facts collected with analysis and recommendations and present it to all the stakeholders and national/regional media.
In the last three days in Manipur we have met a cross-section of people here, including the Chief Minister, Director General of Police, Inspector General - Human Rights and Prisons, members of the civil society, citizens' groups, academics, media persons and families of the victims of state violence.
At the meeting with the Chief Minister, in which the DGP was present, the general situation in the state was reviewed. The DGP confirmed that in the past 11 months over 260 people have been killed in the state. The DGP also asserted that all of them are underground activists.
When the committee expressed concern that more than a quarter of the prisoners in Manipur were detained under the National Security Act, and brought up the case of detained human rights defender, Mr. Jiten Yumnam, the DGP defended Jiten's detention and said he too was connected with the underground.
The Chief Minister said he was prepared for a second round of talks with those agitating over the 23rd July killings, after the first round on October 31. The Chief Minister said that several of their demands could not be met. Regarding the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, he said the matter rests with the Central government. The team members appealed to the government that in order to prevent further alienation of the citizens from the state, each killing must be properly investigated, the National Security Act cases reviewed and the family members of the deceased appropriately rehabilitated through a just rehabilitation policy. The team also raised the issue of Ms. Irom Sharmila Chanu's health, accommodation and access to the hospital.
On 6th November, the team was happy to meet Sharmila, now in the 10th year of her heroic hunger strike against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. The team calls upon the government to provide similar access to other civil society organizations to meet Sharmila. Her family members should be permitted to meet her on a regular basis. Being allowed only a limited number of visitors, she expressed her desire to meet, see and speak to more people more often. Her strength and courage in undertaking the longest satyagraha in the world, completely peaceful and non-violent, leaves us in awe of her struggle. Her demand for the repeal of the Act must be considered in the light of several official recommendations.
Since Ms. Mahashweta Devi was denied permission to meet her the previous day, Sharmila handed over a letter to the team members for the respected Magsaysay Award winner. She further expressed her concern over the number of innocent persons that were killed everyday in Manipur due to the high degree of violence in the state.
Through our discussions in Imphal, we have come across repeated allegations against the state security forces. The team expresses its deep concern over the deteriorating situation and the prevailing climate of impunity in Manipur. It conveys its solidarity with the victims of violence and calls for adequate recompense to the hapless women and children who have lost their husbands/fathers/sons and the only earning members of the families and to ensure employment opportunities to them.
Many have described the killings as fake encounters – murder of innocents who perished either in custody or otherwise, but without legal sanction. Each of these allegations must be investigated in a transparent manner and the guilty punished. Further, there have been charges of using preventive detention laws to curb citizens' democratic rights to protest and freely express their views. The high degree and the frequency of violation of human rights in the state is also cause for alarm. Restoration of peace and order must go hand in hand with the promotion of the rule of law and justice for the sustenance of democracy.
This is an interim report. The final report will follow. We hope to release the findings of the team on 18th November, 2009 in New Delhi.
The team feels that the consequences of continuing violence would be disastrous and will adversely affect peace building and reconciliation in society.
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Babloo Loitongbom
Human Rights Alert
Imphal, Manipur
INDIA
Telephone: + 91 9862008838
Email: bloitongbam@gmail.com
SILCHAR, Sep 1: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has recently asked the Asom Chief Secretary to take action on the basis of a letter sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent by the Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC) on July 18, 2009 regarding the disappearance of Paresh Das (55) and Dilip Das (45) of Nandan Kanan Tea Garden area under Jiribum Police Station in Cachar district, Asom, on May 25, 2009 from Tamenlong in Manipur.
The two used to buy damaged utensils and other household things made of tin, steel, iron etc from villages in East Imphal and Tamenglong districts and sell the items at Silchar in Asom. On that fateful day at 6.30 am, both the workmen left home for Tamenglong together and never returned.
The PMO informed the BHRPC by a letter vide No. 13/3/2009-PMP3/75979 on August 6, 2009, that it had already asked the Asom Chief Secretary to take appropriate action on incident.
The BHRPC informed the Prime Minister that the day after the duo had gone missing both the Jirighat police station in Asom and Jiribum PS in Manipur were duly informed about the incident, but no action was taken. The local people got worried and met the administrative and police authorities and urged them to find out the whereabouts of the two. Getting no satisfactory response, the people called a 36-hour bandh of the NH-53 on July 4. Hundreds of people supported the demonstration. According to witnesses, when these unarmed peaceful people were demanding the administration to take proper action by shouting slogans, a large number of armed paramilitary personnel from 72 Field Regiment of Assam Rifles camping nearby at Lalpani entered the spot and allegedly beat the demonstrators with sticks and injured about 40 people, including women and children.
Under the circumstances, the BHRPC urged the Prime Minister for his intervention to ensure prompt action to find out the missing persons, adequate financial aid and other assistance to the family members of the missing persons and an impartial investigation into the incident of the foray made by the Assam Rifles personnel into the peaceful demonstrators. The BHRPC hopes that the Asom Chief Secretary will take these and other appropriate actions to unearth the truth about the incident and to ensure rehabilitation of the family members of the two missing persons.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) asked the Chief Secretary of Assam to take actions in a case of two residents of Assam who went missing in Manipur, Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC), a human rights organization working in Assam, said in a statement issued yesterday. BHRPC said PMO issued instruction to the Chief Secretary on the basis of its letter addressed to Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India sent on 18 July, 2009 regarding disappearance of Paresh Das (55) and Dilip Das (45) of Nandan Kanan Tea Garden area under the Jirighat Police Station in the district of Cachar, Assam (India) on 25 May, 2009 from Tamenglong in Manipur. They usually buy damaged/unused utensils and other household things made of tin, steel, iron etc. from the villages in the districts of East Imphal and Tamenglong and sell them in Silchar, Assam. On that fateful day at 6.00am both the workmen left home for Tamenglong together and never returned.
The statement said, the PMO informed the BHRPC by a letter vide No. 13/3/2009-PMP3/75979 dated 6 August, 2009 that it has asked the Chief Secretary of Assam to take appropriate actions regarding the incident.
BHRPC complained to the Prime Minister that the day after they went missing both the Jirighat police station in Assam and Jiribam PS in Manipur were duly informed about the incident but no action was taken. Local people got worried and met the administrative and police authorities and urged them to find out the whereabouts of the disappeared.
Getting no satisfactory response, the people called for a 36-hour bandh of the NH-53 to demonstrate on June 4. Hundreds of people from neighbouring areas supported the demonstration. According to witnesses, when these unarmed peaceful people were demanding the administration to take proper actions by shouting slogans, a large number of armed para-military personnel from 72 Field Regiment of Assam Rifles camping nearby at Lalpani entered the spot and allegedly beat the demonstrators with sticks without provocations injuring about 40 people in the process including women and children, some of whom sustained serious injuries.
It is in these circumstances that BHRPC urged the Prime Minister for his intervention to ensure that: 1. prompt actions are taken to find out the missing persons or there whereabouts or their fate; 2. adequate financial aid is paid and other assistance are offered to the family members of the missing persons to ensure their physical and mental well being; and 3. a prompt, impartial investigation into the incident of foray made by the Assam Rifle personnel into the peaceful demonstration is conducted.
BHRPC expressed hopes that the Chief Secretary of Assam will take these and other appropriate actions to unearth the truth about the incident and to ensure rehabilitation and reparation of the family members of the two missing persons.
An Indian Reserve Battalion Personnel lobs a grenade causing serious injuries to 5 civilians. The grenade is of the type that are usually used by Armed Opposition Groups. The law-enforcement personnel has been arrested. Police says, militants may hav...e infiltrated the security forces. Human Rights Defenders say, security forces acting as 'mercenaries'.
The Telegraph reports,
Grenade blast near hospital
- Five hurt in Manipur, IRB jawan held
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Imphal, Aug. 21: A grenade blast in front of a hospital at Thangal Bazar here this morning left five persons wounded, two of them seriously.
Police have arrested a rifleman, T. Munal, from the IRB’s 2nd battalion on suspicion of having thrown the grenade and are investigating whether he has any links with the Kangleipak Communist Party (Military Council).
The grenade exploded about 20 feet from the main entrance of Chamber Hospital, Medical Care and Research Centre, along the approach road around 6.30am. The site is about 200 metres from Imphal City police station and 150 metres from the Assembly.
“Not many people were present at that time. I saw something rolling on the road and suddenly it exploded in front of our medicine store,” a salesman of the store, Rajen Singh, said.
He was lucky. Eight-year-old Yashika Jain was not. The girl, who lives on the first floor of the building next to the hospital, was coming down to buy medicines for her fever when the grenade exploded near her feet. Splinters hit her right ankle and belly. Doctors said the splinters would have to be surgically removed.
Md Leihaluddin, 18, was just stepping out of the hospital to get medicines for his mother, Fatima, who had undergone a surgery, when the blast occurred. A splinter is lodged in his lungs. He was referred to Shija Hospital for immediate operation.
Doctors said the condition of both Yashika and Leihaluddin was serious. Three others, relatives of patients and passersby, were discharged after first aid.
The blast damaged the exteriors of nearby shops.
Confirming the arrest of the IRB jawan, senior superintendent of police L. Kailun said, “We are investigating and interrogating him to know more details.” The police are probing whether the jawan is a member of the KPC (MC) or whether he was engaged by the outfit for a fee.
The police suspect the KCP (MC)’s involvement in the blast because the outfit had earlier owned up to leaving a pinless Chinese hand grenade at the entrance of the hospital on August 15 morning. They said a Chinese grenade was also used in today’s blast.
The outfit had said in a statement the next day that the grenade was a warning to the hospital for not complying with its rules and regulations.
A functionary of the hospital’s managing committee today said, “We did not receive any threat or demand from any group. No one contacted us. We cannot say whether our hospital is the target as there were several medicine stores near the gate of the hospital.”
The police believe the motive for today’s blast could be extortion.
The recovery of a grenade last Saturday and today’s explosion have terrified doctors, nurses and patients at the hospital. The staff and doctors staged a sit-in in front of the hospital this afternoon in protest against the attack.
Corncern over Arbitrary Detention of Human Rights Defenders in Manipur
Silchar, 21 August, 2009: Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC) expresses its deep concerns over the reports of arbitrary detention of human rights defenders protesting against summary executions by security forces in Manipur in a statement issued by its Secretary General Neharul Ahmed Mazumder yesterday here. The statement said, according to information received by BHRPC, on 4 and 5 August 2009, human rights defenders, Mrs Phanjoubam Sakhileima, Mrs Lourembam Nganbi Devi, Mrs Yumlembam Mema, Mr Phurailatpam Devan Sharma, Mr Chingtham Dayananda, Mr Th. Naobi and Mr Karam Sunil were detained by police in Manipur following a protest against the summary execution of an unarmed former militant by security forces.
Phanjoubam Sakhileima is the President of Apunba Manipur Kanba Imma Lup (AMKIL), a women;s civil society umbrella group in Manipur. Lourembam Nganbi Devi is the vice-president of AMKIL and Yumlembam Mema is the general secretary of AMKIL. Th. Naobi and Karam Sunil are coordinators of Apunba Lup, an umbrella group coordinating the civil protest of police brutality in Manipur who are currently demanding the resignation of the chief minister of Manipur and the termination of the police personnel involved in the so-called “encounter killings.” Phurailatpam Devan Sharma is the secretary of All Manipur United Club Organisation (AMUCO) and Chingtham Dayananda is the assistant publicity secretary of AMUCO.
It is stated that according to the information from the reliable sources in Manipur, on 4 August 2009, a group of women activists marched towards Raj Bhavan to meet the Governor of Manipur, in response to the publication of photographs in a Delhi-based news magazine which indicated that the security forces in fact carried out an “encounter killing” of an unarmed man in Imphal, Manipur on 23 July 2009.
A police team stopped the women at the Palace compound and allowed three of them, Phanjoubam Sakhileima, Lourembam Nganbi Devi, and Yumlembam Mema through the barricades to meet the Governor.
The women were subsequently arrested by a group of policemen. On 5 August 2009, the women were brought before the Judicial Magistrate First Class at Imphal and were remanded in judicial custody. On 10 August 2009, District Magistrate of Imphal West issued order number Cril/NSA/No. 72 of 2009 and detained Lourembam Nganbi under the National Security Act (NSA).
It is alleged that the prison authority did not however provide any grounds for the detention of Phanjoubam Sakhileima and Yumlembam Mema. They were produced before the court on 19 August and are currently being held in the Central Jail in Imphal.
On 5 August 2009, a team of police led by the Additional Superintendent of Police, Imphal West arrested Phurailatpam Devan Sharma, Chingtham Dayananda, Th. Naobi and Karam Sunil on charges of rioting, causing damage and breaking the peace of the people.
On 6 August 2009, they were brought before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate at Imphal and remanded in police custody till 10 August 2009. On 10 August 2009, they were detained under the NSA with the separate order issued by District Magistrate, Imphal West. They are currently being held in the Central Jail in Manipur.
BHRPC claimed that under the NSA a person can be detained without charges (preventative or administrative detention) for a period of up to one year.
BHRPC believes that the arrest and detention of Phanjoubam Sakhileima, Lourembam Nganbi Devi, Yumlembam Mema, Phurailatpam Devan Sharma, Chingtham Dayananda, Th. Naobi and Karam Sunil are directly related to their work in defense of human rights in Manipur, particularly their protest of summary executions or “encounter killings” by security forces.
In the statement the BHRPC expressed its concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the aforementioned defenders and calls for their immediate release.
The statement informed that the BHRPC wrote to Prime Minister of India, Chief Minister of Manipur, other authorities in India and Manipur urging them to ensure that:
1. Phanjoubam Sakhileima, Lourembam Nganbi Devi, Yumlembam Mema, Phurailatpam Devan Sharma, Chingtham Dayananda, Th. Naobi and Karam Sunil are immediately and unconditionally released as BHRPC believes that they are being held solely as a result of their legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights;
2. An immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the arrest and detention of Phanjoubam Sakhileima, Lourembam Nganbi Devi, Yumlembam Mema, Phurailatpam Devan Sharma, Chingtham Dayananda, Th. Naobi and Karam Sunil is conducted;
3. The treatment of Phanjoubam Sakhileima, Lourembam Nganbi Devi, Yumlembam Mema, Phurailatpam Devan Sharma, Chingtham Dayananda, Th. Naobi and Karam Sunil, while in detention, adheres to all those conditions set out in the ‘Body of Principles for Treatment of Prisoners, adopted by General Assembly resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990’;
4. All necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological security and integrity of the aforementioned human rights defenders are taken;
5. Human rights defenders in North East India are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals, and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.
BHRPC also wrote to MrsMargaret Sekaggya, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations for human rights defenders for her intervention into the matter.
BHRPC expresses concern over human rights violation
: From our Staff Reporter
SILCHAR, Aug 11: The Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC) expressed deep concern in a press release over reports of an incident of hooliganism, vandalism and assaults on innocent civilians in Silchar on August 2, 2009, by Assam Rifles personnel of the 5th battalion camping at Jiribum, Manipur.
Sources said the police is trying to protect the accused personnel and to hush up the matter. The BHRPC, therefore, condemned the incident and the efforts of the police to cover it.
The BHRPC further requested urgent intervention of the President of India and other authorities into the matter to ensure justice for the victims.
According to the reports, some jawans of the 5th Assam Rifles battalion assaulted a shop owner after buying paan (betel nut) from him. Sources said the jawans were leaving without paying the shop keeper for the pans.
A huge crowd gathered on the spot hearing the commotion. On seeing the crowd, the jawans retreated but warned the shop owner of dire consequences.
Later, at about 10.30 pm on the same day, five jawans led by a major named R Gupta allegedly came in a Jeepsy. After a futile search for the shop owner, the jawans created mayhem in the area and allegedly assaulted another shop worker and injured him along with a few others critically.
Sources further said the Cachar Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and the Officer-in-charge of Silchar Police Station reached the spot with a large police force and brought the situation under control.
The police later took the jawans including the major and the injured to the police station. The injured were sent to the hospital for treatment. But, it was alleged, no First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the jawans.
Mayhem at Silchar and Maneuvering in the Aftermath
Waliullah Ahmed Laskar
The incident can not be termed as horrifying in view of what is happening in neighbouring state Manipur. No body was killed, though many could have had been. But the after effect of the incident is more than shocking. There was nothing but reign of terror. People were afraid to speak with each other even about household chores. Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC) team reported that when they went to the spot they encountered an eerie silence. Witnesses refused to talk. Victims were trying to avoid the team members. Fear and terror were visible in the eyes and faces of the people of the locality.
It was an incident of brutal display of brute force. The terrifying effect of the incident was not as much as that of the maneuvering in the aftermath.
Assam Rifles personnel belonging to the 5th battalion camping at Jiribam, Manipur came to Silchar in Assam, a town known as the heart of Barak Valley, on 2 August, 2009, bought ‘pan’ from a panwala, pushed a pistol into the mouth of panawala who had shown the audacity of demanding money for his pan and then created a mayhem establishing the reign of terror for the whole night.
In a statement BHRPC detailed the incident:
According to the reports, some ‘jawans’ in plain clothes belonging to the 5th battalion of Assam Rifles visited the College Road area in Silchar around 4pm on 2 August and kept loitering there for a few hours. They bought ‘pans’ from a ‘panshop’ owned by one Trinath Dhar of the same locality and started to go away without making payment for the ‘pans’. They got angry when the ‘panwala’ demanded money for his ‘pans’ and started to hurl abuses and threats at him. At further entreaties for the payment the ‘jawans’ beat him, tried to strangle him and one of the ‘jawans’ put his service pistol into the mouth of the ‘panwala’. When people gathered the ‘jawans’ went away but warned him that he would be dealt with appropriately later.
Around 10.30 pm that night 5 ‘jawans’ led by a major named R Gupta came back in a jeepsy car without number plate. They were in plain clothes. Most of the shops were closed at that time. They looked for Trinath Dhar, but his shop was also closed and he hid himself somewhere nearby. The ‘jawans’ entered a nearby saloon named ‘Ajoy Hair Cutting’, which was still open, and started to break things and to beat people inside the shop. The reports alleged that the ‘jawans’ hurled Sumon Sheel, a worker in the saloon, through the window into a drain several feet down. He sustained severe injuries.
According to the reports, at the hue and cry people of the locality started to gather at the spot and the ‘jawans’ kept beating indiscriminately whoever they could catch including women and rickshaw pullers creating a mayhem. They also allegedly opened fire. Ten persons including Ajoy Sheel, the owner of the saloon, Sumon Sheel, a worker in the saloon, Trinath Dhar, the panwala who came out from his hiding when people gathered and Rapon Bhattacharya of Subhash Nagar were injured.
At that time the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Headquarter, Cachar and the Officer-in-Charge of Silchar police station came to the spot with a large police force and brought the situation under control. The police took the ‘jawans’ including the major and the injured to the police station. The injured were sent to the hospital for treatment. But no First Information Report (FIR) was registered.
The Assam Rifles major told the media persons that they were in an ambush there and the local people attacked them even after the ‘jawans’ revealed their identity. He claimed that Assam Rifles personnel were acting in self defence. But there is no answer to the question why Assam Rifles did not inform the local police about their operation in a thick residential area which they are bound to do.
Members of the BHRPC visited the area next day (3 August) in order to find out the facts about the incident. They encountered with an eerie silence. Witnesses refused to talk. Victims were trying to avoid the team members. Fear and terror were visible in the eyes and faces of the people of the locality. After much persuasion and guarantee of protection of identity some victims and witnesses spoke out. Their accounts corroborated each and every facts stated above.
They added that they were asked not to speak with the media and human rights groups except that the matter was ‘settled amicably’ and that they had no grievances against the Assam Rifles personnel or Assam Police members. But the grievances were so acute and deep that one of them went on to say that ‘talks of human rights have meanings only in independent democratic countries’ and out of frustration he declared that ‘India is neither independent nor democratic in actual sense of the terms’. ‘If you try to fight for your rights legally they will kill you ‘legally’’, he claimed. He went on, ‘if you file a complaint with the police the investigation will be biased and at the end of the day the accused will not be prosecuted or if prosecuted will be acquitted for lack of evidence.’ According to him, this is the best expectable situation. At the worst you will be encountered, he claimed. According to him, it is a practice of the security forces to make terrorist of a person who dares to point his fingers against them by planting arms and ammunitions at his residence and then they will kill him in a staged encounter. ‘No human rights group will be able to save him’, he declared.
The statement said, BHRPC could not persuade the terrified victims to lodge a complaint with the police regarding the incident. It reveals their lack of trust in Indian justice delivery system, which is very dangerous.
One of leading local daily news paper carried the story of ‘mutual settlement’ on 4 August. The report informed that the matter was settled in a tripartite meeting among victims, Assam Rifles personnel and officials of Assam Police held at Silchar police station on 3 August. The news paper planted a new version of the incident completely contradicting what it told the day before. More over, it did not make any reference to the earlier story by way of refutation or corrigendum or whatever may be. The paper owes an explanation to its readers and the public. All other papers kept mum on the matter.
It shows a conspiracy of silence. BHRPC thinks that there are ample grounds to conclude prima facie that the Assam Rifles, Assam Police, local media and some other local elements are in collusion with each other to protection the accused ‘jawans’ from legal consequences. In effect, rights of the victims of crimes to justice, remedies and reparation are being denied.
BHRPC concludes that the incident and the subsequent efforts to hush it up amount to vaiolations of fundamental rights laid down in Artiles 21 and 14 of the Constitution of India. Article 21 guarantees right to life and personal liberty, which includes, inter alia, right to live with human dignity, right to physical and psychological integrity and right to justice, remedies and adequate reparation in case of violations of any fundamental rights. Article 14 guarantees equality before and law and equal protection of law. The officials of the Assam Police violated this right of victims by not registering an FIR and by not initiating prosecution against the accused personnel.
The actions of the Assam Rifles personnel and officials of Assam police also violated international human rights obligation of the State of India in respect of the right to life, security of persons and property, right to physical and psychological integrity and right to justice, remedies and adequate reparation in case of violations as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and other instruments.
BHRPC urges administration to look into missing case
: From our Staff Reporter
SILCHAR, July 20: Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC), a human rights organization working in Asom, is deeply concerned over the report of disappearance of two labourers Paresh Das (55) and Dilip Das (45), both residents of Nandan Kanan Tea Garden area under the Jirighat Police Station in the district of Cachar-Asom. The two went missing on May 25, 2009.
Sources said the two missing persons used to buy damaged and unused utensils and other household things made of tin, steel and iron from the villages in the districts of East Imphal and Tamenglong in Manipur and sold them in Silchar.
The two left for work early on May 25 and never returned. The family members of Paresh and Dilip as well as people residing in Nandan Kanan Tea Garden are completely disturbed with the incident. They said both the missing persons were friends and partners in their small venture.
Paresh was the only bread winner of his family consisting of his 80-year-old mother Shefali Das, wife Unmoti Das (35) and a daughter Monika Das. Similarly, Dilip had to earn for his mother, wife Himani Das (29), a sister and two sons. Now they have been left to fend for themselves.
On May 26, both the Jirighat police station in Asom and Jiribam PS in Manipur were duly informed about the incident but till date no action has been taken on the matter. Local clubs and organizations got united and met the administrative and police authorities to press them into swift action.
Getting no satisfactory response, the people called for a 36-hour bandh of the NH-53 to demonstrate on June 4. Hundreds of people from neighbouring areas supported the demonstration. According to witnesses, when these unarmed peaceful people were demanding the administration to take proper actions by shouting slogans, a large number of armed para-military personnel from 72 Field Regiment of Assam Rifles camping nearby at Lalpani entered the spot and allegedly beat the demonstrators with sticks without provocations injuring about 40 people in the process including women and children, some of whom sustained serious injuries.
According to sources, when Assam Rifles personnel were threatening to open fire, a large force of Asom police reached the spot and brought the situation under control.
BHRPC has strongly condemned the action and urged the administration to pay adequate financial aid and other assistance to the family members of the missing persons and to order a prompt and impartial investigation into the hulabaloo created by Assam Rifles personnel into the peaceful demonstration.
It is with the utmost hesitation that I write this. Hesitation because I think I have not understood, nor have many others who have written about the May police firing in Beemapalli. Not that there is any ambiguity in anybody's (who has visited the place) mind about the specific incidents that took place on 17th of May this year. As a part of a small fact finding team trying to tie up its report, I'd rather use this space to raise contextual questions about the police firing that have been haunting me since I heard the first reports of the firing.
At the outset, I need to assert as a human rights lawyer (and independent of the socio-economic realities of Beemapalli) that what happened on May 17th in Beemapalli is one of the worst possible crimes - where lives of 6 people were taken by forces of the state, without following the procedure established by law - in other words extra-judicial murders - and calling it by any other name is as offensive as the incident itself. In my mind, the incident involves the police allegedly firing 50 rounds of bullets at a gathering in a coastal village. The facts are that 43 people were injured and 6 died in the police firing. The fact is that all the people who died and were injured were Muslims. The fact is that there is no credible evidence shown that the crowd fired at was violent or provocative. The fact is that there is no damage reported from the police side. The fact is that the police bypassed the usual procedures that need to be adopted before a firing. Having made that assertion, let me move on to the first set of concerns that have been haunting me.
Silent Media, Silent Opposition
The first of these is the general social and political reactions to Beemapalli firing. In fact one of the factors that led me to take the initiative in organising a fact-finding was the deafening silence that followed the violence in Beemapalli. It looked like that only "Muslim" organisations were interested in taking up the issue. Even the political opposition did not seem like wanting to capitalise this serious lapse in governance. When I tried prying into the possible reason, a newspaper report lauding the media for acting sensibly by maintaining silence and thereby averting a communal issue was literally thrown at my face. (The report was titled, Signs of a Mature Media, Opposition).
But was this violence communal to start with? The victims of the violence did not seem to think so - despite all of them belonging to one single community!!
Interestingly apart from the high profile Lavalin case, the national and Kerala media was filled with stories of racist violence in Australia around this time. Then how did such gruesome violence fail to capture collective social imaginations? The only plausible answer that comes to my mind is the identity of those killed and injured in Beemapally - they were all from fish worker Muslim community - and do not have messiahs touting their cause.
There are other reasons as well for my arrival at this hypothesis. The first being that in the past couple of decades state violence in all its manifestations is being directed against traditionally and structurally marginalised groups. Formal expressions were demonstrated in Muthanga, Chengara and now Beemapalli. Insidious and subtle expressions through changes in reservation structure, discourse on terror used to de-legitimise communitarian political expressions and so on.
Dangerous Activities
Interestingly Beemapalli, being a Muslim ghetto has figured many a time in police narratives on terror. It would take another full essay to analyse this. It is in this context that couple of weeks after the firing, an intelligence report dated before the firing was leaked to the press. This report warns the state police of dangerous and illegal activity in Beemapalli and Malappuram. Much to my amusement, what the newspapers omitted was that this "dangerous" activity is the trade in pirated CD/DVDs that Bheemapally is notorious for. Interestingly, this has been subsequently used to close down this trade and increase police presence in Beemapalli. One of the speculations that was aired as a reason for the extreme violence from the police firing was to gain a foothold into this lucrative terrain.
Claims on Coastal Resources
The next reason is rooted in the socio-economic conditions prevailing in coastal areas generally and Beemapally specifically. The Indian coast has been a simmering pot of discontent for sometime now - aggravated especially after the tsunami. This discontent is rooted in multiple contestations for coastal resources and fish-worker resistance articulated through their right to the coast as a common property resource. I have been witness to a number of concerted efforts to divide the coastal community during the tsunami rehabilitation process. Some of these experiences have been documented as well. These contestations are grounded in the fact of the vulnerability of the coastal communities and Dalit and Muslim communities amongst these are even more vulnerable. Beemapally violence needs to be seen in this context as well. Portrayal of the police violence in Beemapally as communal riots instigated by a Beemapally mob by the police and a section of society including segments of the Catholic church subtly fails to acknowledge that the neighbouring hamlet Cheriyathura is inhabited by Latin Catholics. This reading is inherently dangerous as it pits two similarly placed vulnerable communities against each other.
Two Beemapallis and a Free Run
Further, Magalene, a fish worker leader confirms my suspicion that social indicators in Beemapalli are much worse compared to neighbouring fishing hamlets. She points to the fact that there are two Beemapallys in existence - one glossy Beemapally made of the DVD/CD trade and the other fish-worker hamlet which lacks even basic hygiene and sanitary requirements. She also points to the abysmal female literacy and empowerment in this hamlet in support of her claim. This also perhaps points to a hegemonic social apathy towards people that are forced to live on the fringes - a certain lack of value for their lives. This also could have contributed to the unchallenged free run that the Police is having with their version of the violence and attempts to portray their violence as a communal clash.
My next set of concerns is regarding the impunity with which the Police framed a community as communally volatile and in all probabilities is getting away with it. In his report to the government, DGP Jacob Punnose claims that the police fired 50 rounds and there are 43 injured and 6 dead - indicating that police fired to hit. This also dispels claims that several rounds were fired in the air. Of course there are other unsubstantiated claims in DGP Punnose's report. But what gets my nerve is the shoddy framing that the police has indulged in, without having done any homework whatsoever - is this born out of a confidence that the Police force would get away with murder since the people killed are fishing Muslims? The confidence of the police seems to be bolstered by the collective silences and framing of Bheemapalli as a dangerous area mentioned above. It needs to be remembered that DGP Punnose is spearheading the demand for Police reforms and reducing political control over the police. In the process many vital questions remain unanswered, including questions that would legally place the violence as cold-blooded murder within criminal jurisprudence.
The silence on Beemapalli violence opens many cans of worms - including the deeply hegemonic nature of Kerala's responses to its marginalised, latent communalism within the administration and media and so on and so forth. The responses to Beemapalli has left me perplexed, especially after having visited the place. But, having spend considerable time and energy on conflict situations, my sense is that Kerala might be sitting on a social time bomb, if it continues this lackadaisical attitude towards its marginalised population.
I believe Beemapalli calls for a classical "secular" response and honest peace building exercises that would instill a sense of confidence in Beemapally residents that they are not being persecuted - but that might be a difficult job and would call for extreme commitment.
74-yr-old Faizuddin beaten to death in his home by raiding police
By Waliullah Ahmed Laskar
Guwahati: In a brutal show of police power, the Assam Police mercilessly beat up Faizuddin Ahmed, an elderly respectable person of village Latakhat under Dhula police station in Darrang district of Assam, during a raid at his home on 11 July 2009. Ahmed succumbed to the assault and died on the spot.
As done by other co-accused, the 74-year-old man did not go into hiding when a police team barged into his house at about 10 pm purportedly in search of three persons including him accused in a case. The family members of the deceased state that when they insisted that he should avoid the police and answer the charge against him in the court he maintained that there was no need to go into hiding as he was innocent.
The case against him and two other persons was false and filed maliciously because he tried to intervene in a dispute involving his co-villagers to settle it amicably, say some local people. One of the parties to the dispute was not happy with him and they filed a false case against him. It is this case in connection with which the police raided his house.
According to the sources, the raiding police team demanded ten thousand rupees from him because he made them to visit his house in the night as there is a case against him. If there was no case they would not have to toil so much. It is he who is responsible for accusations against him and he had to pay for it, the policemen allegedly said. The elderly person pleaded his innocence repeatedly and told them that if they insist he could only pay them rupees two thousand. At this offer the men in uniform got infuriated and started to beat him, sources claim. The aged fragile body could not withstand the brutal assaults and succumbed at the spot.
According to the reports, the local people assembled at Faizuddin's house and gheraoed the police team, immediately after the incident. They demanded exemplary punishment against the guilty police officers.
A case has been registered against the raiding police personnel in Dhula police station bearing No. 157/2009 and the Superintendent of Police for Darrang district Imdadul Hussain ordered to arrest the Sub-Inspector who led the erring team.
The people are shocked at the incident and demanding prompt trial and exemplary punishment for the ‘killer officers.’
SILCHAR, July 12: The Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC) has welcomed the judgment of the Delhi High Court in the Naz Foundation and others Vs NCT of Delhi and other [WP (C) No.7455/2001] cases delivered on July 2 decriminalizing consensual sex among homosexuals. BHRPC held a core group discussion on the judgment and its potential in the field of human rights jurisprudence in India on July 8. Later in the day, the BHRPC sent a letter to the Prime Minister drawing his attention to the ruling of the High Court.
Now it is the turn of the government to act. BHRPC believes that from the legal and human rights view point, it is not advisable for the government to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court of India or enact a law making the judgment ineffective. It has now become imperative for the government to amend other laws to fine-tune them with this historic ruling. Drastic amendment or new legislation in the field of family law is necessary to remove discrimination against the LGBT communities in this sphere of life.
BHRPC thinks that it is also equally imperative for the government to respect the direction of the Supreme Court in Shakshi Vs Union of India [(writ petition(Crl.)No.33of1997], recommendation of the National Commission for Women (NCW) and long-standing demands of civil society organization for amendment of laws relating to sexual offences. There are inadequacies and loopholes in both substantial and procedural laws relating to sexual offence as they stand now in the IPC, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. BHRPC has also suggested some amendments in the Indian Evidence Act, 1972 such as (1) a new section 114B should be introduced providing a presumption in favour of the victim as to the consent in aggravated sexual assaults; (2) Clause (4) in section 155 which permits the person accused of rape or attempt to ravish to prove that the victim was of generally immoral character should be deleted; (3) in section 146 another clause, namely, clause (4) should be added starting expressly that in a prosecution for sexual assault, it shall not be permissible to adduce evidence or to put questions in cross-examination of the person assaulted with respect to his/her previous sexual history, character or conduct whether to establish consent or otherwise; (4) the absence of a medical report in the case of sexual assaults shall not be a factor against the complainant /person assaulted.
BHRPC urged the Prime Minister to amend the laws stated above taking into confidence and in consultation with the citizens of the country, particularly the groups of citizens interested in such matters such as women’s organizations, human rights organization and other civil society organizations.
