THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 20 March 2020 (Giving Human Rights Commissions more teeth (The Hindu))

Giving Human Rights Commissions more teeth (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:Polity
Prelims level: Human Rights Commissions
Mains level:Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies

Context:

• The purpose of the Act was to establish an institutional framework that could effectively protect, promote and fulfil the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
• The Act created a National Human Rights Commission, and also, Human Rights Commissions at the levels of the various States.

Background:

• In 1993, the Indian Parliament enacted the Protection of Human Rights Act.
• There have been the usual critiques of the politicisation of autonomous bodies, and selectiveness.
• Even more than that, however, it has been alleged that for all intents and purposes, the Human Rights Commissions are toothless: at the highest, they play an advisory role, with the government left free to disobey or even disregard their findings.

Pending case:

• A pending case before the High Court of Madras has assumed great significance.
• A Full Bench of the High Court will be deciding upon whether “recommendations” made by the Human Rights Commissions are binding upon their respective State (or Central) governments, or whether the .................................................

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Constitutional commitment:

• There needs to be good reason for interpretations of this kind. This brings us to the purpose of the Human Rights Act, and the importance of fourth branch institutions.
• As indicated above, the Human Rights Act exists to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights.
• To fulfil this purpose, the Act ....................................

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Way forward:

• The courts have invoked constitutional purpose to determine the powers of various fourth branch institutions in cases of ambiguity.
• It is therefore clear that in determining the powers of autonomous bodies such as the Human Rights Commission, the role that fourth branch institutions are expected to play in the constitutional scheme is significant.
• The Supreme Court held as much in the context of “opinions” rendered by the Foreigners Tribunals, using very similar logic to say that these “opinions” were binding.
• The crucial role played by a Human Rights Commission — and the requirement of state accountability in a democracy committed to a ‘culture of justification’ — strongly indicates that the Commission’s recommendations should be binding upon the state.

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  General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the SIRT1, consider the following statements:
1. A study by researchers from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai (TIFR) has recently revealed the role of glucose in regulating liver functions and ageing.
2. An enzyme that goes by the name SIRT1 is known to be associated with regulation of metabolic activities and also ageing and hence has become a target of therapeutics.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: ...............................................

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Mains Questions:
Q.1)Do you think Human rights commission's recommendations in the country should be made binding upon the state for better human rights protection? Comment.