NHRC

It is necessary to include human rights issues in climate policies and programmes along with proper funding of social protection schemes to promote local knowledge and assist community-led adaptation to the effects of climate change, the head of India's human rights commission has said. Addressing an international conference on climate change in the Qatari capital Doha, Justice Arun Mishra, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India, said that the human-induced build-up of Green House Gases is causing climate change and raising serious concerns about human rights. He said that climate change causes displacement, loss of property, income and access to essential services like healthcare and education due to which the vulnerable groups suffer the most. "Therefore, it is necessary to include human rights issues into climate policies and programmes along with proper funding of social protection schemes to promote local knowledge and assist community-led adaptatio

The NHRC has issued notices to all states and Union territories asking them to reply within six weeks on the extent to which they can ensure dignity of the dead by formulating a policy at their end or by way of administrative orders and their strict implementation, officials said on Tuesday. The report from them also must specify steps that are taken or proposed to be taken regarding the issuance of directives to the private hospitals for "not withholding the dead bodies for non-payment of medical bills by the family members of the deceased", the National Human Rights Commission said in a statement. The NHRC said it has taken suo motu cognisance of the issues related to the cremation and undignified treatment of dead bodies as raised by Jitendra Singh Shunty, a member of its Core Group of Human Rights Defenders. For more than 27 years, he has been involved in free cremation of unclaimed dead bodies and related services, it said. The NHRC has issued notices to "all state governments

Human rights defenders play a very constructive role in promoting and protecting human rights, NHRC chairperson justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra said on Thursday. He said this while chairing the first meeting of the National Human Rights Commission's re-constituted Core Group of Human Rights Defenders. NHRC Member D M Mulay and senior officers of the Commission were present on the occasion. Human rights defenders (HRDs) play a very constructive role in promoting and protecting human rights in the country, justice Mishra was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the NHRC. He said the role of the NHRC and the HRDs is complementary to each other. "The HRDs through their work on the ground can see and raise concerns, if any, on the status of the implementation of welfare schemes and human rights situation and help the Commission in the discharge of its mandate," the NHRC chief said. Justice (retd) Mishra said that with technological advancement and internet-aided connectivity, ne

The NHRC has sent notices to the Centre and various states and Union Territories over the reported high death rate of workers in accidents at registered factories, officials said on Thursday. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in a statement, said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a newspaper article that according to the Ministry of Labour and Employment's Directorate General Factory Advice Service and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI) data, three people died and 11 were injured each day on an average between 2017 and 2022, due to accidents at registered factories in the country. Reportedly, as many as 3,331 deaths were recorded between 2018 and 2020, but only 14 people were imprisoned for offences under the Factories Act, 1948, it said. The data collected by DGFASLI from Chief Inspectors of Factories and Directors of Industrial Safety and Health represents that only registered factories provided the figures, whereas, 90 per cent workers in India are employed in the informal

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairperson Justice (Retd) Arun Kumar Mishra on Thursday called for a stringent law to deal with "unlawful Internet behaviour and cyber crimes." He was speaking after the inauguration of the 25th All India Forensic Science Conference at the National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar. "It is necessary to promote cyber ethics. And there should be stringent legislation by the government to penalise and punish unlawful Internet behaviour and cyber crimes," the former Supreme Court judge said. Many countries have amended their laws "specifically to deal with cyber crimes along with the advent of newer kinds of crimes," he said. Freedom of expression applicable for "social media and cyber space" is not "larger" than what is granted to individuals or the media, Mishra said. "Freedom of expression under Article 19 of the Constitution given to the media or individuals is the same as that given to the social media or the cyberspace, it is .

The NHRC has issued a notice to the Maharahshtra government over reported plight of women labourers engaged in sugarcane cutting for many factories in Ahmed Nagar district, officials said on Tuesday

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has ordered a probe into the alleged custodial death of a 30-year-old man in Etah district in 2014

The NHRC has issued notices to the Delhi government and the director general of Prisons over reports that a prisoner was sexually assaulted by fellow inmates in Tihar Jail, officials said on Monday. The National Human Rights Commission has also decided to send its own team for an on-spot inquiry in the case, they said. The NHRC has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports carried on December 30 that a 22-year-old prisoner was allegedly sexually assaulted by fellow inmates at Tihar Jail, the rights panel said in a statement. Reportedly, the prisoner is under medical treatment, it said. The contents of the media reports, if true, amount to the violation of the victim's right to life and dignity, the NHRC said. According to the notices issued to the chief secretary of Delhi and the director general of Prisons, the commission has sought a detailed report in the matter within four weeks. The report should include the present health status of the victim, action taken against the erri

The National Human Rights Commission has sent notices to the Maharashtra government and collectors of eight districts in the state's Marathwada region over reported rising instances of child marriage, a senior official said on Friday. The Commission has observed that the contents of the article about the plight of the victims of child marriages, if true, amount to a violation of human rights relating to their life, liberty, dignity, and equality of the poor people, especially the women in the region. The NHRC in a statement said it has taken "suo motu cognisance of a newspaper article highlighting the malpractice of child marriage prevailing in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra due to which a large number of women are forced to lead a miserable life. The article has documented the plight of some child marriage victims in the region". Accordingly, the Commission has issued notices to the chief secretary of Maharashtra and the district collectors of Jalna, Aurangabad, Parbhani, ...

As the death toll in Bihar's Chhapra due to the consumption of spurious liquor mounted to 72, Union Minister Nityanand Rai on Sunday accused the state government of "hiding" the actual number

The National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the Bihar government and the state's police chief over the Saran hooch tragedy in which at least 30 people have died, officials said on Friday. The sale and consumption of alcohol was completely banned in Bihar in April 2016, though its "implementation has been patchy," the NHRC observed in a statement. The Saran hooch tragedy toll rose to 30 on Friday, the biggest since Bihar went dry more than six years ago, and it continued to cast a shadow on the state legislature where BJP members disrupted proceedings in both Houses before staging a Raj Bhavan march. However, unconfirmed reports claimed up to 50 people died by drinking illicitly brewed country liquor. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has "taken suo motu cognisance of the media reports that several people have died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Saran district of Bihar," it said. The commission has observed that the contents of the media repor

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the governments of Bihar and Tamil Nadu over the alleged abuse of 12 orphans in a madrassa in the southern state. The Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that said two persons have been arrested in Chennai for housing and abusing orphaned juveniles from Bihar. Twelve children were rescued from the madrassa located at Ponniammanmedu, the NHRC said. The commission has issued notices to the chief secretaries of Tamil Nadu and Bihar and the Chennai police commissioner calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks. The media report published on December 1 claimed that police had got information through the '1098' helpline that some children are being subjected to harassment and physical abuse in a madrassa at Ponniammanmedu near Madhavaram in Chennai, the NHRC said. It was reported that a criminal case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the accu

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the governments of Bihar and Tamil Nadu over the alleged abuse of 12 orphaned children in a madrassa in the southern state. The commission has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that said two persons have been arrested in Chennai for housing and abusing orphaned juveniles from Bihar. Twelve children were rescued from the madrassa located at Ponniammanmedu, the NHRC said. The commission has issued notices to the chief secretaries of Tamil Nadu and Bihar and the Chennai police commissioner calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks. The media report published on December 1 claimed that police had got information through the '1098' helpline that some children are being subjected to harassment and physical abuse in a madrassa at Ponniammanmedu near Madhavaram in Chennai, the NHRC said. It was reported that a criminal case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Coder a

Reportedly, the patients were told that the eye surgeries were being done at a free camp but were charged Rs 1500 each

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Delhi government to fix a timeline to rectify the cause of poor air quality at hotspots and inquired about the status of alternative landfill sites. The NHRC on Friday held the third hearing of chief secretaries of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi on air pollution in Delhi NCR in light of reports submitted by them in response to its directions in the last meeting. Seeking further reports, the next date of hearing has been fixed for November 25. "The commission asked the Delhi government to fix a timeline to find out and rectify the cause of poor air quality at the hot spots and when these will become normal. The commission also enquired about the status of alternative landfill sites for garbage disposal and cleaning thereof," it said in a statement. While taking note of some of the actions taken by the state governments to control air pollution by managing stubble, dust, and hospital sewage, among others, the panel ..

Catch all the latest updates from across the world here

The commission recently heard the responses of the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh in connection with its suo motu cognizance of unabated air pollution in Delhi- NCR

After hearing the responses of the chief secretaries of Delhi and three neighbouring states on the pollution issue, the NHRC on Saturday said farmers are burning stubble "under compulsion" and it is due to the "failure" of the four state governments that stubble burning is happening. Alarmed over the rise in pollution in Delhi-NCR, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had recently asked the chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to appear before it on November 10 to discuss the matter. The Commission, after considering the responses of the states concerned and the government of Delhi, and the deliberations thereon, is of the opinion that the "farmers are burning stubble under compulsion," the NHRC said in a statement on Saturday. "The state governments have to provide harvest machines to get rid of those stubble, but they have failed to provide an adequate number of requisite machines and other measures; as a result, farmers are forced to burn the ...

The commission said that incidents of stubble burning should be strictly curtailed. It said that if the situation was not improved, a heavy penalty would be imposed on Punjab

Alarmed over the rise in pollution in Delhi-NCR, the NHRC has asked the chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to appear before it on November 10 to discuss the matter, an official statement said on Friday. The National Human Rights Commission said it is "not satisfied" with the actions taken so far to address the issue and that "much more" needs to be done to reduce pollution in Delhi. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi stood at 426 (severe) at 9:30 am on Friday, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. An AQI above 400 is considered 'severe' and can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing illnesses. The NHRC asked the chief secretaries to inform it within a week about the steps taken by their respective governments to stop stubble burning. "Their reports must also inform about the effect of smog towers and anti-smog guns. It should also have information on how many anti-smog guns are operational and what further st