Headless KSHRC: Who will hear our plaints?
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There are numerous cases of human rights violations in different parts of the State, but there is no one to hear them. The Karnataka State Human Rights Commission is shut for all practical purposes. Only recently a teenager was molested and thrown out of a moving train, a student was locked up in a dark room, there was the attack on young people in Mangalore. The State human rights commission that could have enquired into these cases simply doesn’t function because all three of its members -- a chairperson and two members have retired.
The chairperson of the commission Justice S.R. Nayak was relieved of his duties after completing five years in office on July 25. Member Bannikuppe Parthasarathy retired on March 2 and the second member Ramappa Hanamantappa Raddi retired on July 27. The post of secretary, who oversees the administration of the Commission, has been vacant since Javid Pasha retired on June 30. No new appointments have been made to fill these vacancies, which shows just how much regard the government has for human rights. In the absence of all the members, there will be no hearing of any complaints. On an average, the Commission receives 30 complaints a day and has over 12,000 pending cases. The fresh complaints will only add to the pending cases.
“Till the new commission is appointed, I, as the registrar of the KSHRC, will continue to receive complaints. There are no members to hear the complaints and direct any action on them. We can only accept complaints and keep them pending till a member is appointed. It is a vacuum right now,” said registrar of the KSHRC, K. H. Malleshappa. Mr Malleshappa heads the registration section, while the investigation wing is headed by IGP Sunil Agarwal. The administration section is headless in the absence of a secretary and is currently being taken care of by a deputy secretary.
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