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Volume VII No.4 April 2010
President : Dr. A. Shanker Patron : Sandeep Dikshit, MP (Lok Sabha)
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(A Monthly Publication of Manavadhikar Samajik Manch)

Human Touch is a platform for non-partisan portrayal of human rights issues in their different forms. Be it the
rights of the weaker sections of our population such as the women, the children, the aged and the physically
challenged, or the victims of some social customs, cultural traditions and economic & non-economic policies, the
publication brings out the issues objectively and in a manner that would give succour to the people whose rights
are either violated or put in jeopardy.

Human Touch acts as a forum for scholars, activists, concerned individuals and the common men & women
to ventilate their grievances, express their views and to highlight cases of human rights violations, so that
appropriate ameliorative actions can be taken by the concerned agencies. It is meant to help the helpless and
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 In this issue...

OHCHR’s Damning Silence: 5

Needs a New Approach to Speak

Section 498A of Indian Penal Code: 7

A Legal Terrorism

National News 13

News from the National Human Rights Commission 15

International News 21

Slums In Metropolis: 25
The Bane of Urban India

Obama’s Health Bill: 27

Is It A Victory for Capitalism?

Curing the Ills of India: 28

Need for Basic Comprehensive Social Security for All

Appeal: 32
An 18-year-old boy is Abducted and Murdered in Manipur
 F rom the President’s Desk …
Law enforcement agencies in India have recently banned narco-analysis, brain mapping, or lie detector
tests. In a recent judgment the Supreme Court said "No individual can be forced and subjected to such
techniques involuntarily". Further the Supreme Court said it amounts to unwarranted intrusion of personal
liberty. For truth drug tests, chemicals are injected into suspects or witnesses, lulling them into a semi-
conscious state during which they are questioned. Information gained through such methods is already
inadmissible in Indian courts, but the recent ruling stated that leads extracted from suspects cannot be
pursued. In holding that the forcible use of these tests is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court of India has
drawn attention to the inherent violence in such investigative procedures, which constitute a gross abuse of
human rights. Many experts also opined that it is medically not advisable as well. There may not be the risk
of death to a person undergoing a narco-analysis test but there is the possibility of complications arising
during the process.

The judgement, which followed complaints from several accused, was welcomed by many lawyers and
lawyers group who said it "protected the constitutional right of personal liberty". The landmark 251-page
judgment arrives at two broad legal conclusions. First, such coercive testing violates Article 20 (3) of the
Constitution, which stipulates “no person accused of an offence shall stand witness against himself.” Sec-
ondly, it is an infringement of the right to personal liberty as understood in the context of Article 21, in
particular the right to privacy, the right to a free trial, and the right against cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment.

The court has made it clear that nobody can be compelled to undergo such tests and that any statements
made during those procedures are not admissible as evidence. Such tests are permissible only when taken
voluntarily. But even in such cases, they must be conducted in strict compliance with the National Human
Rights Commission's Guidelines for the Administration of the Polygraph Test — which includes safeguards
such as the mandatory recording of consent before a magistrate and the conduct of all tests by an independ-
ent agency.

Now that the Supreme Court has banned these tests, the police ought to change its colonial mindset and
show greater respect for human rights and human dignity. It is common knowledge how the accused are
tortured these days, sometimes resulting in custodial deaths. Undoubtedly, the apex court ruling is certain to
ensure a fair trial for any individual, but agencies like the CBI ought to deploy more humane methods of
investigation to ferret out the truth and bring the guilty to book.

Dr. A. Shanker

V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010 4

 OHCHR’s Damning Silence:
Needs a New Approach to Speak
T
he Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) is facing a cri-
sis of its own making. In its website,
the OHCHR states “As the principal
United Nations office mandated to pro-
mote and protect human rights for all,
the OHCHR leads global human rights
efforts speaks out objectively in the
face of human rights violations world-
wide”. Instead of speaking out, it has
shown a preference for silence.
The position of the OHCHR sits un-
easily with that of the UN Secretary
General Ban Ki Moon who once again
reiterated on 9 March 2010 his inten-
sion to establish an expert panel to ad-
vise him on “setting the broad param-
eters and standards on the way ahead
on establishing accountability” for al-
leged human rights violations in Sri
Lanka during the conflict between the
government forces and the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This
is welcome.
In contrast, the UN High Com-
missioner for Human Rights,
Navanethem Pillay has failed to
adequately address grave human
rights violations in Sri Lanka,
not least in the final days of the
war with the LTTE. While Spe-
cial Procedures mandate hold-
ers issued various statements,
High Commissioner Navi Pillay
issued only one statement on
13th March 2009 but said noth-
ing more until the end of the
war on 19 May 2009 when
worst violations of international
human rights law and interna-
tional humanitarian law took
place. Her statement on 4
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
March 2010 at the ongoing 13th ses-
sion of the UN Human Rights Council
that “Sri Lanka should undertake a full
reckoning of the grave violations com-
mitted by all sides during the war” was
too little, too late. The High Commis-
sioner has also said nothing on the de-
tention of quarter of a million internally
displaced persons by the Sri Lankan
authorities and persecution of journal-
ists and human rights defenders in that
country even after the end of the war.
The mandate of the Representative of
the United Nations Secretary-General
on the Human Rights of Internally Dis-
placed Persons, Walter Kaelin, who
highlighted the conditions of the IDPs
at the end of a three-day return visit to
Sri Lanka on 29 September 2009 is
different.
5
- Suhas Chakma
Stunningly, the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights failed
to condemn the coup d’etat in Niger
by the military led by Major Adamu
Haruna on 19 February 2010. The
African Union condemned the coup
and the Economic Community of West
African States suspended Niger on the
ground that it had "zero tolerance" for
any unconstitutional changes of gov-
ernment.
The failure to condemn the coup d'etat
in Niger is not an isolated event. When
General Sonthi Boonyaratglin ousted
Thaksin Shinawatra's government, put
most Cabinet Ministers under incom-
municado detention and formed “Ad-
ministrative Reform Council” in a
bloodless coup in Thailand on 19 Sep-
tember 2006, the then High Commis-
sioner for Human Rights Louise Ar-
bour failed to condemn the coup.
It might not be a mere coincidence
that after the Asian Centre for Human
Rights issued a press statement
on 22 September 2006 casti-
gating the High Commissioner
for its failure to condemn the
coup that the OHCHR issued
a statement on 25 September
2006 stating that “The forci-
ble and unconstitutional re-
placement of Thailand’s
freely-elected Government on
19 September, the establish-
ment of martial law, the aboli-
tion of the 1997 Constitution,
the dissolution of Parliament
and the Cabinet as well as the
disbanding of the Constitu-
tional Court, have raised im-
portant human rights con-
cerns”.

When the Director of the Asian Cen-
tre for Human Rights subsequently met
the officials of the OHCHR in Geneva,
he was told that the OHCHR was veri-
fying facts from the regional office in
Bangkok and therefore could not ex-
press its concerns earlier. This was
despite that national and international
media had already televised the deploy-
ment of the tanks on the deserted
streets of Bangkok after the military
takeover.
The recent killings of indigenous tribal
peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts
(CHTs) of Bangladesh that began on
19 February 2010 expose this worry-
ing trend of the OHCHR.
The killings have very negative impli-
cations for the peace process. The vio-
lence was the worst violence since the
signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
Peace Accord of 1997 with the insur-
gent Parbattya Chattagram Jana
Samhati Samiti, and the violence has
the potential to undermine the Peace
Accord or worse see a return to vio-
lent conflicts. Clearly both the killings
and a return to conflict have serious
implications for human rights enjoy-
ment.
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki
Moon found the killings in the CHTs
sufficiently important to express con-
cern. Catherine Ashton, High Repre-
sentative of the European Union for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
and Vice President of the European
Commission was equally concerned,
stating on 26th February: “The EU is
aware of allegations that the incident
involved army personnel and labour-
ers employed by the army” and called
upon the Government of Bangladesh
“to ensure that the perpetrators of these
shameful acts are brought to justice.”
The OHCHR said nothing.
Why does “commission” of human
rights violations in the CHTs by the
Bangladeshi security forces in league
with the illegal plain settlers merit the
attention of the UN Secretary General
and the EU High Representative on
Foreign Affairs, but not the OHCHR?
The High Commissioner’s statement
on the latest massacre of hundreds of
villagers in the sectarian violence
around Jos in northern Nigeria which
appears to be a clear case of “omis-
sion” on the part of the Government
of Nigeria is welcome but not suffi-
cient to address its damning silence on
6
grave human rights violations across
the world.
UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights, Navi Pillay must develop new
approaches to enable the High Com-
missioner to be in a position to respond
to the grave human rights violations in
the world. Nobody is suggesting that
the OHCHR should respond like an
NGO. But it does not speak well of
the High Commissioner or the OHCHR
when regional inter-governmental or-
ganisations and international commu-
nity condemn certain grave human
rights violations or coup d’etat and the
High Commissioner/OHCHR maintains
its damning silence. The High Com-
missioner must be seen to be leading
the international agenda on human
rights issues and add a voice, among
others, to that of the UN Secretary
General.
The UN General Assembly resolution
60/251 establishing the UN Human
Rights Council provides that “the Coun-
cil shall review its work and function-
ing five years after its establishment
and report to the General Assembly”.
Many ideas for the review to be held
in 2011 are already floating around.
The ideas, amongst others, include the
establishment of an Office of the Presi-
dent of the Human Rights Council and
further to make the OHCHR just an-
other UN agency. The prospect of the
OHCHR turning into a UNDP type
agency - with its mandate of engage-
ment with the government at any price
- is a troubling thought. Irrespective
of the ideas floating around on the re-
view of the Human Rights Council,
Navi Pillay must take the leadership
before it is too late.
(The author is the Director, Asian
Centre for Human Rights. The
article is sourced from
www.achrweb.org)
 Section 498A of Indian Penal Code:
You [should] not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered,
but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harm it would cause if improperly administered.
T
he Criminal Law system as such
deals directly with the life and
liberty of individuals. The legal
framework to deal with crime need to
take special care to maintain a fair bal-
ance between the effective implemen-
tation of the penal sanctions, wherever
required and at the same time to pro-
tect the human dignity and provide
safeguards to the innocent. Since the
laws dealing with Section 498A needs
to be stringent therefore, obligation to
protect the innocent becomes more im-
portant.
Women have traditionally been victims
of patriarchal interests and social in-
equities. All along, words such as
dowry, harassment and victim pointed
only to one gender; female. Laws have
been formed in this respect keeping
women’s protection in mind. But who
would have thought the day would
come when some vested interest indi-
viduals will turn and use these very
laws to torment men?
The researcher will cover Section 498A
of the Indian Penal Code relating to
criminal law in which the wife and her
family can charge any or all of the
husband’s family of physical or men-
tal cruelty. This law is unique to India
as it not only discriminates based on
gender [man v. woman] but also dis-
criminates against women based on
their relationship with the husband.
Typically, the charged family members
in these cases include:
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
A Legal Terrorism
- Lyndon B. Johnson
• Mostly women of all ages [un-
married, married and pregnant
sisters of husband, his mother
and sisters-in-law, elderly
grandmothers and aunts].
• Other maternal and paternal
relatives and even young chil-
dren in the family.
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was
amended in the year 1983 to include
the provisions of Section 498A which
deals with the punishment of the hus-
band and his relatives if a married
women is subjected to cruelty which
is likely to drive a woman to commit
suicide or cause grave physical or
mental injury to her, and harassment
with a view to coercing her or any of
her relatives to meet any unlawful de-
mands of property. The offence is cog-
nizable, non-bailable and non-com-
poundable. Hence, once a complaint
is lodged on the above mentioned
grounds, the accused has a lot to bear
before he can be given a clean chit.
With the rise in modernization, educa-
tion, financial security and the new
found independence the radical femi-
nist has made Section 498A a weapon
in their hands. Many a hapless hus-
bands and in-laws have become vic-
tims of their vengeful daughter-in-
laws. Most cases, where Section 498A
is invoked turn out to false (as repeat-
edly accepted by High Courts and Su-
7
- Moamil Hassan
preme Court in India) as they are mere
blackmail attempts by the wife [or her
close relatives] when faced with a
strained marriage. The non-bailability
provision is grossly misused by un-
scrupulous wives who file false com-
plaints against unsuspecting husbands
and her in-laws. The police in such
cases register FIR and forward the
charge sheet without proper investi-
gation in most of the cases. A lot of
men have had their lives ruined because
of this drastic section.
Let us look into the bare Act of the
Section 498A which states that, “who-
ever being the husband or relative of
the husband of woman, subjects such
woman to cruelty shall be punished
with the imprisonment for a term
which may extend to three years and
also be liable to fine”.
Explanation
For the purpose of this Section, “cru-
elty” means:
(a) Any wilful conduct which is of
such a nature as is likely to drive
the woman to commit suicide
or to cause grave injury or dan-
ger of life, limb or health
(whether mental or physical) of
the woman; or
(b) Harassment of woman where
such harassment is with a view
to coercing her or any person
related to her to meet any un-
lawful demand for any property
or valuable security or is on ac-
 count of failure by her or any
person related to her to meet
such demand.
Section 498A of Indian Penal Code:
This Section is non-bailable (the ac-
cused must appear in the Court to re-
quest bail), non-compoundable (the
complaint cannot be withdrawn by the
petitioner) and cognizable (the accused
can be arrested and jailed without war-
rant or investigation).
The accused are presumed guilty, and
for all practical purposes, the burden
is on the accused to prove
innocence in the courts. The
FIR is typically an imaginary
story, running into many
pages, with absolutely no sup-
porting evidence. It takes
about 7 to 8 years for the ac-
cused to prove their inno-
cence in the courts. The de-
lay in the provision of justice
amounts to the denial of jus-
tice. There is no penalty for
the misuse of this section
498a,and after acquittal of the
accused, the courts are reluc-
tant to entertain defamation
and perjury cases against the falsely
testifying witnesses.
By the same Act (Criminal Law
Amendment Act, 1983) (Act 46 of
1983), Section 113-A has been added
to the Indian Evidence Act, to raise pre-
sumption regarding abetment of sui-
cide by married women which reads
as follows:
Section 113-A, presumption as the
dowry death:
When the question is whether a per-
son has committed the dowry death
of a woman and it is shown that soon
before her death such woman has been
subjected by such person to cruelty
or harassment for,or in connection
with, any demand for dowry, the Court
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
shall presume that such person had
caused the dowry death.
Explanation
For the purpose of this Section ‘dowry
death’ shall have the same meaning as
in Section 304-B of the Indian Penal
Code (45 of 1860) under Section 498A
of Indian Penal Code, cruelty by itself
amounts to an offence whereas under
Section 304B, the offence is of dowry
death and the death must have occurred
during the course of seven years of
marriage. But no such period is men-
tioned in Section 498A.
Why Section 498A of Indian Penal
Code is misused by people:
• Legal extortion: Get-rich-quick-
scheme to extort large amounts
of money.
• Prior Relationship: Wife has a
prior relationship, and cannot get
out of it. She marries to satisfy
her parents, and then misuses
the Section 498A in order to
obtain a divorce.
• Adultery: Women who indulge
in adultery use Section 498A as
a bargaining tool.
• Domination: Wife wants the
husband to abandon his parents
and siblings, and have total con-
trol over his finances and social
behaviour.
8
• Custody: Deny the father and
his family access to their child
(ren).
• Fraudulent Marriages: In which
the bride (and her family) hides
her education and when justifi-
ably asked to release the person
who has gone into marriage
without knowing the full facts;
she files a false Section 498A
case.
• The kind of women who are
likely to file false 498A cases
have certain typical traits:
* Who is suffering from pre-
existing mental problems such
as Borderline personality dis-
order, Bipolar Disorder etc.;
*Whose family is nouveau
riche and likes, ostentatious
display of wealth, posses-
sions as well as social and
political connections;
*Who is used to living beyond
her means;
*Who listens to and acts in
accordance with her par-
ents’ wishes at all times,
exhibiting a lack of individu-
ality and discretion in deal-
ing with her married life;
* Who pushes for quick in-
volvement during the estab-
lishment of marriage alli-
ance, pressing the man and
his family for an instantane-
ous commitment;
* Who is excessively posses-
sive and suspicious;
* Who is self-centred and feels
the need to dominate the re-
lationship and every aspect
of decision making;
* Who tries to alienate her hus-
band from his family and
friends;
* Who is hypersensitive and
therefore easily insulted;
* Who indulges in verbal
abuse and constant criticism
of her husband and in-laws.
Judicial Response
Misuse of Section 498A has also been
called as “Legal Terrorism” by the
Supreme Court of India. Many in-
stances have come to light where the
complaints are not bonafide and have
been filed with oblique motive.
• In Kanaraj v. State of Punjab,
the apex Court observed as:
“for the fault of the husband,
the in-laws or other relatives
cannot in all cases be held to be
involved. The acts attributed to
such persons have to be proved
beyond reasonable doubt and
they cannot be held
responsible by
mere conjectures
and implications.
The tendency to
rope in relatives of
the husband as ac-
cused has to be
curbed”.
• In State v. Srikanth,
the Karnataka High
Court observed as:
“Roping in of the
whole of the fam-
ily including broth-
ers and sisters-in-
law has to be depre-
ciated unless there
is a specific mate-
rial against these
persons, it is down
right on the part of the police to
include the whole of the family
as accused”.
• In Mohd Hassan v. State of
A.P., the Supreme Court ob-
served as:
“Whether one spouse has been
guilt of cruelty to the other is
essentially a question of fact.
The impact of complaints, ac-
cusation or taunts on a person
amounting to cruelty depends
on various factors like the sen-
sitivity of the victim concerned,
the social background, the en-
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
vironment, education etc. Fur-
ther, mental cruelty varies from
person to person depending on
the intensity of the sensitivity,
degree of courage and endur-
ance to withstand such cruelty.
Each case has to be decided on
its own facts whether mental
cruelty is made out”.
• In Savitri Devi v. Ramesh
Chand, the Delhi High Court
observed as:
“These provisions were though
made with good intentions but
the implementation has left a
very bad taste and the move has
been counter productive. There
is a growing tendency amongst
the women which is further per-
petuated by their parents and
relatives to rope in each and
every relative including minors
and even school going kids
nearer or distant relatives and in
some case against every person
of family of the husband
whether living away or in other
town or abroad and married,
unmarried, sisters, sister-in-law,
unmarried brothers, married
9
uncles and in some cases, grand
parents or as many as 10 or 15
or even more relatives of the
husband”.
• In Bhupinder Kaur and Others
v. State of Punjab and Others,
the Punjab and Haryana High
Court observed as:
“From the reading of the FIR,
it is evident, that there is no spe-
cific the guilty and protect the
innocent. There is no scope for
any pre-conceived notion or
view. It is strenuously argued
by the petitioner that the
investigating agencies and
the courts start with the
presumptions that the ac-
cused persons are guilty
and that the complainant
is speaking the truth. This
is too wide available and
generalized statement.
Certain statutory pre-
sumptions are drawn
which again are
rebuttable. It is to be noted
that the role of the inves-
tigating agencies and the
courts is that of watchdog
and not of a bloodhound.It
should be their effort to
see that an innocent per-
son is not made to suffer
on account of
unfounded,baseless and mali-
cious allegations.It is equally
undisputable that in many cases
no direct evidence is available
and the courts have to act on
circumstantial evidence. While
dealing with such cases, the law
laid down relating to circum-
stantial evidence has to be kept
in view”.
Justice Malimath Committee on Re-
forms of Criminal Justice System,
Government of India, Ministry of
Home Affairs, 2003 observed the fol-
lowing and gave recommendation to
amend the law immediately:
“16.4.4, In less tolerant impulsive
woman may lodge an FIR even on
trivial act. The result is that the hus-
band and his family may be immedi-
ately arrested and there may be a sus-
pension or loss of job. The offence
alleged being non-bailable, innocent
persons languish in custody. There
may be a claim for maintenance add-
ing fuel to fire, if the hus-
band cannot pay. She may
change her mind and get into
the mood to forget and for-
give. The husband may re-
alize that mistakes commit-
ted and come forward to
turn a new leaf for a loving
and cordial relationship. The
woman may like to seek
reconciliation. But this may
not be possible due to the
legal obstacles. Even if she
wishes to make amends by
withdrawing the complaint,
she can not do so as the of-
fence is non-compoundable.
The doors for returning the family life
stand close. She is thus left at the
mercy of her natal family.
16.4.5, This Section, therefore, helps
neither the wife nor the husband. The
offence being non-bailable and non-
compoundable makes an innocent per-
son undergo stigmatization and hard-
ship. Heartless provisions that make the
offence non-bailable and non-com-
poundable operate against reconcilia-
tions. It is therefore, necessary to make
this offence (a) bailable and, (b) com-
poundable to give a chance to the
spouses to come together.
(118) The code may be suitably
amended to make the offence under
Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code,
bailable and compoundable”.
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
The Apex Court has also commented
on the possible misuse of this provi-
sion in a number of cases. Right to life
and liberty of every citizen is guaran-
teed under Article 21 of the Constitu-
tion of India. But this life and liberty
can be curtailed if they hinder others’
life and liberty. For that due process
of law is necessary. While civil law
determines what is right and what is
wrong, the criminal law imposes pen-
alty to deter.
Role of Media
Today every husband is labelled a tor-
turer and the mother-in-law a demon.
A fair amount of blame for this rests
on the media which, with a view to
sensationalize the ‘story’ blows the
news of ‘harassment’ or ‘torture’ of
married women out of proportions,
without properly investigating the ve-
racity of the story. The news of al-
leged ‘torture, harassment and misap-
propriation of stridhan’ of wife by ‘A’
was published prominently by a lead-
ing city newspaper, accusing several
members of his family torturing her.
The concerned reporter never bothered
to verify the allegations with the hus-
band of ‘A’. As the news carried his
full name and those of his relatives,
designation and the organization where
10
he was working, it caused irreparable
damage to the entire family’s image and
hard-earned reputation in almost every
circle they moved. Queries started
pouring in following this news. De-
press as he was, ‘A’ immediately reg-
istered his protest with the editor. The
newspaper did publish his rejoinder, but
after a long time gap and without any
apology for publishing an unverified
report. One wonders where this grow-
ing tendency of misusing the useful
laws by unscrupulous par-
ties is leading the society.
Harassing and victimizing
women for dowry is con-
demnable. We all have sis-
ters and daughters, and un-
doubtedly they require legal
protection from all forms of
harassment and cruelty but
what if the legal loopholes
of this very law are mis-
used by women to harass
their husbands and in-laws?
The courts have expressed
deep anguish over this law.
Here are some recent judi-
cial observations:
Way back in Jasbir Kaur v. State of
Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana High
Court observed:
“It is known that an estranged wife
will go to any extent to rope in as many
relatives of the husband as possible in
a desperate effort to salvage jeopard-
izes around a dozen innocent persons
whether they are children or old.
Hence, the provision is discriminatory
and in violation to the Article 14 of the
Constitution of India”.
Instead of restoring equilibrium, the
provision aggravates disequilibria.
Hence, it is not only imbalanced but
also there is a failure of guarantee of
right to life under Article 21 of the
Constitution of India. The provision is
not only imbalanced but also ultravires.
The provision needs to be amended at
the earliest to protect the life and lib-
erty of millions of innocent people in-
cluding children and old. The provi-
sion is intended to be used as a shield
and not as an assassin’s weapon. If
cry of “wolf” is made too often as a
prank assistance and protection may
not be available when the actual “wolf”
appears. There is no question of in-
vestigating agency and courts casually
dealing with the allegations. They can-
not follow any strait jacket formula in
the matters relating to dowry, tortures,
deaths and cruelty. It cannot be lost
sight of that ultimate
objective of every le-
gal system is to arrive
at truth, punish the
guilty and protect the
innocent. It is to be
noted that the role of
investigating agencies
and the courts is that
of watch dog and not
of a bloodhound. It
should be their effort
to see that an inno-
cent person is not
made to suffer or ac-
count of unfolded,
baseless and
mahcious allegations.
Possible Alterations in the Present
System and the Law
1. Role of Women NGOs:
These organization should in-
vestigate complaint properly
without any bias towards the
woman keeping in mind that the
law is being misused largely to
harass more women in hus-
band’s family. They should not
encourage any woman to file a
criminal case against her in-laws
for trivial matters. Foreign
women organizations should
also take responsibility of not
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
allowing false complaint to be
registered against NRI’s just to
harass and extort huge amount
of money from them. These or-
ganizations should also conduct
survey/research on the misuse
of the act and should educate
people about its consequences.
If these organizations are found
to be assisting in filing false
complaints, then they should be
made liable for prosecution in
the country where they are
functioning.
2. Family Counseling Centres
Numerous cases of men being
harassed by wife or/and in-laws
have come to light from differ-
ent parts of the country. As of
now, there is no organization,
which can really help these har-
assed men and his family mem-
bers, to listen their side of the
story and put their point of view
in front of the government.
Need of the hour is to create
family counselling centres
across the country to help those
aggrieved families.
3. Time Bound Investigation and
Trial
A speedy trial of Section 498(a)
cases will not only ensure jus-
11
tice for the innocents that have
been implicated in false charges,
it will also lead to prompt
redressal of the grievances of
real dowry victims. The reduc-
tion in false cases will also re-
duce the burden on judiciary and
expedite the processing of real
cases.
4. Definition of Mental Cruelty
Mental cruelty has been vaguely
defined in the act, which leaves
scope of misuse. This should
be clearly elaborated to remove
loopholes in the law. There
should be provision for men
also to file a case for mental cru-
elty by his wife.
5. Bailable
The main reason
of Section 498A be-
ing misused to harass
innocent is its non-
bailable nature. This
Section should be
made bailable to pre-
vent innocent old par-
ents, pregnant sisters
and school going chil-
dren from languishing
in custody for weeks
without any fault of
them.
6. Compoundable
Once FIR has
been registered, it becomes im-
possible to withdraw the case
even if wife realizes that she has
done a blunder and wants to
come back to her matrimonial
home. To save institution of
marriage, this should be made
compoundable. Moreover, in the
scenario, where the couple de-
cides to end the marriage by
mutual divorce, continuation of
criminal proceedings hamper
their life.
7. Arrest Warrants
Arrest warrants should be is-
sued only against the main ac-
 cused and only after cognizance
has been taken. Husband fam-
ily members should not be ar-
rested.
8. Penalty for making false accu-
sation
Whenever any Court comes to
the conclusion that the allega-
tions made regarding commis-
sion of offence under Section
498A Indian Penal Code are
unfound, stringent action should
be taken against persons mak-
ing the allegations. This would
discourage persons from com-
ing to courts with unclean hands
and ulterior motives. Criminal
charges should be brought
against all authorities that are
collaborating with falsely accus-
ing women and their parental
families.
9. Court Proceedings
Physical appearance of the ac-
cused on hearing should be
waved or kept low to avoid has-
sles in appearing to the Court,
especially for NRIs. The Court
should not ask to surrender
passport of the husband and his
family which could cost job of
the husband and his family
members.
10.Registration of Marriage and
Gifts Exchanged
The registration of marriages
should be made compulsory
along with the requirement that
the couple make a joint decla-
ration regarding the gifts ex-
changed during marriage.
11. Punish Dowry Givers
If the complainant admits giv-
ing dowry in the complaint, the
courts should take cognizance
of the same and initiate pro-
ceedings against them under the
relevant sections of the Dowry
Prohibition Act.
12.Penalise Corrupt Investigation
Officers
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
If it is apparent to the Court that
a fair investigation has not been
conducted by the investigation
officer, and that the husband
and his family have been
charge-sheeted without proper
verification of the complaint,
the investigation officer should
be penalized for gross negli-
gence of duty.
13.Gender Neutral
Everyone should have equal
rights and responsibilities irre-
spective of gender. In the cur-
rent social context, there should
be similar laws to protect har-
assed husband and his family
members from an unscrupu-
lous wife.
Conclusion
After the entire study, we can conclude
that though Section 498A of Indian
Penal Code was originally designed to
protect married women from being
harassed or subjected to cruelty by
husbands and/or their relatives. This
law was mainly aimed at curbing
dowry harassment. Unfortunately, this
law has been misused to harass men
and their families rather than protect
genuine female victims of harassment.
The centre for Social Research India
has released a research report oppos-
ing amendments to Section 498A. Ac-
12
cording to this report, in the studied
cases, there were no convictions
based solely on Section 498A. Although
the report states that 6.5 percent of
the studied cases were falsified. They
also state that many people believe the
law has been abused by “educated and
independent minded women”.The lat-
est addition in a womens’ legal artil-
lery is The Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act-“This law is
absolutely pro-women and anti-
men,this law assumes every man as a
torturer” and considers only women
as victims.This law is highly vague and
speaks of verbal/economical and
amp;emotional abuse,which are impos-
sible to quantify and amp; ascertain.
Many husbands and their family
members,falsely implicated in these
cases have committed suicide after
being jailed, unable to bear the social
trauma .Nearly,44.7% of the suicide
victims were married males,while only
25% were married females(10).This
clearly shows the ratio of victims of
domestic violence and gender abuse.It
is time for law makers/law enforcing
agencies/judges to pay heed and re-
view these laws in public interest to
check the growing misuse of these
laws to ensure impartial justice and to
protect the pious and sacred institu-
tion of marriage. Henceforth, certain
legal actions should be taken at earli-
est to curtail the growth of “legal ter-
rorism”, by misuse of provisions of
law.
Contribute Articles and
Support Our Cause in
Creating a Just and
Equitable Societyhuman
rights updates.
 National Human Rights Update
Indian Cabinet Approved For Law
On Torture
The union cabinet
on 8th April 2010
approved a pro-
posal to introduce a
legislation on prevention of torture.
The Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010,
will be a step towards ratification of
1975 UN treaty against torture, Infor-
mation and Broadcasting Minister
Ambika Soni said.
India is a signatory to a convention
against torture and other cruel, inhu-
man and degrading treatment or pun-
ishment.
For ratification of convention, India
needs to bring a domestic law in tune
with the provision of the convention,
the minister told reporters after the
cabinet meet.
So far, the Indian Penal Code neither
defines torture nor makes it criminal
as called for by Article 4 of the con-
vention.
'It is an affirmative positive action to
prevent cruelty and degradation of
human life,' said the minister.
As the matter is related to the concur-
rent list, the view of the state govern-
ments had been sought, she added.
HC asked Nanavati Commission
to clarify stand on summoning
Modi
The Gujarat
High Court on
Monday asked
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
the Nanavati Commission, probing the
2002 riot cases, to clarify by April 1
whether it will summon Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi in the matter.
A division bench of Chief Justice S J
Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil
Kureshi sought this information from
the government pleader while hearing
an appeal by Jan Sangarsh Manch
(JSM), an NGO representing the 2002
riot victims.
When the matter came up for hearing
today the court asked the government
pleader to get clarification from
Nanavati Commission by April 1 with
regard to its order of September 2009,
and inform the court whether its deci-
sion not to summon Modi and others
was a final decision or a tentative one.
Nanavati Commission, in September
last year had disposed of JSM's appli-
cation asking for summoning of Modi
and others saying that it did not find
justification in cross-examining them
at that point of time for the purpose
stated by JSM. The Commission had
further stated in the order that allega-
tions made in JSM's application were
vague and based on wrong or unwar-
ranted assumptions.
JSM had sought quashing of the
Nanavati Commission's order in the
Gujarat High Court and prayed that
Modi and three others -- the then home
minister Gordhan Zadafia, health min-
ister Ashok Bhat and DCP Zone 5, R J
Savani-- be called for cross examina-
tion with regard to the 2002 riots.
13
A single bench of Justice K S Jhaveri
dismissed JSM'spetition in November
last year saying that the Commission
has not completed its inquiry and still
has power to summon Modi under
section 8(b) of Commissions of In-
quiry Act.
The JSM then filed an appeal before a
division bench where it sought quash-
ing of Commission's order and issu-
ance of summons to Modi and three
others for cross examination with re-
gard to the 2002 riots.
The Nanavati Commission had last
month informed the High Court on the
status of its inquiry. The Commission
in its letter had said that it had com-
pleted analysis of all evidences col-
lected and statements recorded and
was about to begin writing the report.
The process of writing the report was
likely to take 3-4 months, it had said.
The Commission stated that it had
probed about 4,145 cases which took
place between February 27, 2002 and
May 31, 2002. Modi was summoned
by the Special Investigation Team ap-
pointed by Supreme Court yesterday
in Gulburg society riot case but he
failed to appear before the team.
Tamil Nadu police arrest
protestors against Namal
Rajapkase’s arrival in Chennai
Tamil Nadu
police arrested
ten persons re-
cently among
hundreds of
people who
had gathered at Chennai airport to pro-
test against the arrival of Namal
Rajapakse, the son of Sri Lanka Presi-
dent Mahinda Rajapakse, passing via
Chennai International Airport to watch
the cricket match between the Chennai
and Punjab teams, sources in Chennai
said. Meanwhile, a group of fifty Sri
Lankan police officers led by Superin-
tendent of Police, L. R. Wijeyasinghe,
who are to follow a three month course
in security services for Very Impor-
tant Persons (VIPs) in a training cen-
tre in Haryana state, arrived in Delhi
on recenltly, sources in Delhi said.
Members of various organizations in-
cluding Periyaar Thiraavida
Kazhakam in their hundreds had
gathered at the airport to demonstrate
their protest in the context of Lib-
eration Tiger leader Mr. V.
Pirapaharan’s mother being refused
entry into Tamil Nadu for medical
treatment and sent back to Malay-
sia, the sources added.
Meanwhile, Namal Rajapakse is re-
ported to have reached Delhi from
where he will proceed to watch the
cricket match between Chennai and
Punjab.
Sri Lankan cricket players are playing
for the Punjab team, sources in Tamil
Nadu said.
Mrs. Vallipuram Parvathi, the ailing
mother of LTTE leader Mr. Velupillai
Pirapaharan, was refused landing by
Indian immigration officials at Chennai
airport Friday night around 11:30 p.m.
Mrs. Parvathi, travelling from Malay-
sia, was seeking medical treatment in
India. She was sent back to Malaysia
in the same flight. Tamil Nadu leaders
Nedumaran and Vaiko were at the air-
port and they were later joined by the
members of the VCK party of
Thirumavalavan. According to media
sources citing immigration officials,
Mrs. Parvathi is considered by India
as a threat to law and order situation
in the country. (Source: TamilNet)

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V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010 14

News From the National Human Rights Commission
NHRC Asked Centre To Pay
Compensation
The National
Human Rights
Commission has
asked the Ministry
of Defence,
Government of
India to pay a
compensation of
Rs.50,000 each to
two residents of Assam who were
caught and allegedly tortured by Army
personnel last year on suspicion that
they had links with ULFA.
The Commission also asked the Union
Defence Secretary to submit a
compliance report along with proof of
payment of the compensation within
six weeks.
Personnel of Maibel Base Army Camp
had caught Bhadrakanta Baruah and
Ghana Neog, both residents of
Tokolimara village, and allegedly beaten
them up on January 31 last year
suspecting them of having links with
ULFA militants. They were taken to
an army camp where they were
allegedly assaulted. Baruah charged
that he was administered electric
shocks.
They were later handed over to the
police for interrogation. They were
released thereafter as nothing
incriminating was found against them,
the NHRC noted.
In its reply to the Commission's show-
cause notice, the Defence Ministry said
the two villagers were caught on the
basis of reliable intelligence inputs
saying the duo had “harboured and
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
provided food and shelter” to ULFA
cadres on January 28.
The Ministry also claimed that during
questioning Baruah and Neog had
accepted that militants had stayed in
their houses on January 28 before
proceeding to another village next day
but denied that Army men tortured them
while questioning. – PTI
NHRC finds Ghaziabad a hub of
brick kilns; out of 423 kilns more
than 100 found not paying proper
wages to the labourers
The National
H u m a n
R i g h t s
Commission
has found
113 brick
kilns in District Ghaziabad, Uttar
Pradesh not making payments to the
labourers as per the provisions of the
payment of Wages Act, 1936 and
Minimum Wages Act, 1948, and has
asked the District Magistrate to take
strict action against the owners of
these kilns.
This revelation about Ghaziabad being
a hub of brick kilns came following
the report of the District Magistrate,
Ghaziabad in compliance with
Commission's directions to find out the
number of brick kilns in his jurisdiction,
and their status of affairs viz-à-viz
payments to the labourers, when the
Commission found the inquiry reports
factually incorrect as submitted by the
District Administration in a specific
case.
15
The Commission observed 'that the
earlier reports submitted before the
Commission were conducted in a
casual manner and appear to have been
prepared in order to help the brick kiln
owners.'
The labourers working in this Kiln were
neither released nor rehabilitated as per
the provisions of the Law, and packed
back to their villages without being paid
even their dues. But this is only a tip
of an iceberg, as out of 423 brick kilns
in this area of major construction
activity, the district administration is
yet to inspect 310 brick kilns.
The Commission on the 12th April, 2010
asked them to complete this job within
six weeks, when they sought extension
of time till May, 2010 to do so. The
Commission has also asked the District
Magistrate, Ghaziabad to take strict
action against the brick kiln owners in
the district flouting the norms under the
Payment of Wages Act 1936 and
Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
This case was taken up by the
Commission on a complaint dated 4th
December, 2008. The complainant
alleged that he along with his family
members and fellow labourers were not
being paid their complete salary by
their employer and owner of Brick Kiln.
The complainant said that when he
along with other labourers demanded
their dues, they were tortured by the
brick kiln owner and their staff, and
thus they were forced to live as bonded
labourers in the brick kiln. He also
alleged that seven children below 14
years were also detained by the brick
kiln owner and sought the intervention
of the Commission in the matter.
The Commission directed the District
Magistrate, Ghaziabad on the 17th
December, 2008 to conduct an inquiry
at the spot for identification of bonded
labour, if any. It also asked for
immediate steps for the release of any
bonded labour.
The report submitted by the District
Magistrate stated that the brick kiln
was non functional and no labourer
was found there. However, when
the Commission asked the
complainant for his comments on
the report, he said that the officer
in-charge OP-Pipeline Police
Station, Muradnagar got released all
the labourers from brick kiln
without taking any action against
the owner. They were also not paid
their pending dues.
Thereafter, the Commission asked
the District Magistrate to conduct
an inquiry and also appear in
person on the 2nd February, 2010
when another inquiry report
submitted by him was not found
satisfactory.
The District Magistrate was asked
to personally initiate action against
the violators of Labour Laws;
conduct surprise inspection; prepare
list of all the brick kilns in District
Ghaziabad, and inform whether the
labourers are being paid as per the
norms or not.
A detailed report submitted by the
District Magistrate on the 10th March,
2010 said that the police had taken Ex-
Party action. He informed that in the
matter relating to the 113 brick kilns,
charge-sheets has been submitted
against 24 brick kiln owners in the
court of Chief Judicial Magistrate,
Ghaziabad. In 30 cases, notices have
been issued for compounding the
offence.
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
NHRC condemns killing of more
than 70 CRPF personnel by
Naxalites in Chhattisgarh
The National Human Rights
Commission is disturbed by news of
the killing of more than 70 CRPF and
district police personnel by the
Naxalites in Dantewada district of the
State of Chhattisgarh while discharging
their duties today on the 6th April, 2010
and condemns the growing cult of
violence being adopted by certain
vested interests in the society.
The Commission is of the firm view
that any movement or action in the
name of struggle for the rights of the
citizens looses its legitimacy the
moment it resorts to violence which is
the anti thesis of protection of human
rights.
The police and para-military forces are
the instruments of the State to enforce
rule of law and order and thus protect
human rights of the citizens. In this
process they are themselves exposed
to high risks to their own lives as well
as their families. The Commission
acknowledges the vital role played by
the police and para-military forces in
maintaining the security of the State.
It is expected that the state will take
note of the sacrifices made by the
personnel of CRPF and the police in
maintaining the rule of law and creating
an environment of peace and security
for the citizens of the country.
The Commission accords
paramountcy to the protection of the
16
human rights of all the citizens in the
country. It needs no emphasis that the
aggrieved family would be suitably
compensated.
NHRC holds Haryana
Government liable for paying
monetary relief of Rs. 3 lakhs to
a lady victim of gang rape by the
State Police Personnel
Setting aside the claims and counter
claims of the Haryana Police and Police
administration of Union Territory of
Chandigarh as to who would pay the
monetary relief to a lady victim of a
gang rape by the police personnel, the
Commission finally recommended that
the Government of Haryana pay rupees
three lakhs to the victim.
In its proceedings on the 23rd March,
2010, the Commission observed that
based on the inquiry reports of the
Director General Police, Haryana, the
crime was committed by the Haryana
police personnel, and therefore the
Government of Haryana is liable to
compensate the victim.
The Commission took up the matter
under the case no. 3340/7/0/07-08-WC
on the 28th February, 2008 in a suo
motu cognizance of the media reports
carried on the 22nd February, 2008
alleging that a 40 year old lady was
dragged out of an auto-rickshaw by
Haryana Armed police personnel
Dinesh, in Sector-7, Chandigarh, just
100 meters from the high security
Haryana and Punjab Raj Bhawans in
the early morning hours of the 21st
February, 2008. He took her to his
quarter where she was gang raped by
him, his guest Situ and Commando
Bijender Singh.
The Commission sought the report
from DGP, Haryana in the matter. The
DGP, Haryana vide communication
dated 15th May, 2008 sent a report
which revealed that a case crime no.
36 u/s 341/342/376/506/323/34/IPC
was registered at police station Sector-
3, Chandigarh against the culprits of
gang rape on the 21st February, 2008.
A charge sheet in respect of FIR No.
36 dated 21st February, 2008 u/s 376
was already filed in the court at
Chandigarh, and the trial of the accused
persons was in the progress.
Commando Bijender Singh was
arrested and sent to the judicial
custody. He was also suspended and a
departmental inquiry was initiated
against him. However, quoting
statement of the victim in FIR, it was
said in the report that Bijender was not
involved in her rape. Constable Dinesh
Kumar was dismissed from the service
on 6th August, 2008 after found guilty
in a departmental inquiry in the matter.
After consideration of the reports
received from DGP, Haryana the
Commission issued notice to the
Government of Haryana to show cause
why monetary relief should not be
given to the victim. However, the DGP,
Haryana informed the Commission that
the matter pertained to the Union
Territory of Chandigarh. Hence, a
show cause notice was issued to the
Administrator of UT of Chandigarh.
In response to this, the Inspector
General of Police, UT of Chandigarh
said that the accused Constable was
the employee of the Haryana
Government, hence, the liability for the
payment of monetary relief to the
victim lies with them. The Commission
found the stand taken by the
Administration of UT of Chandigarh
correct. Again a notice was issued to
the Government of Haryana. In
response the DGP, Haryana took the
stand that since the crime took place
within the jurisdiction of UT of
Chandigarh, it is the liability of
Chandigarh Administration to
compensate the victim of the crime.
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
The Commission observed that no
public servant of UT of Chandigarh
was involved in the crime. The
Government of Haryana had also taken
disciplinary action against the two
police personnel Dinesh and Bijender
involved in the crime. Hence, the
Commission recommended that
Government of Haryana pay monetary
relief to the victim. It has also asked
for a compliance report along with
proof of payment within six weeks
after the date of receipt from the Chief
Secretary of the State.
NHRC recommends Rs. 10 lakhs
monetary relief in a case of fake
encounter by Delhi Police
Setting aside the plea of the Delhi
Police that the case being sub-judice
no monetary relief should be awarded,
the National Human Rights
Commission recommended that the
Delhi Government pay Rs. 5 lakhs
each to the next of kin of Mandeep
Singh and Vicky alias Vivek killed in a
fake encounter by the city police.
The Commission in its order on the
12th March, 2010 under the case no.
1974/7/2002-2003-AD observed, 'We
find no merit in the plea. Proceeding
of the Commission are independent of
any other proceedings which may be
pending at any other forum. Moreover,
the issue to be decided in the criminal
trial may not necessarily be the same
as that before the Commission. While
the question before us is whether
Mandeep Singh and Vicky @ Vivek
were deprived of life otherwise than
17
in accordance with the procedure
established by law, the criminal trial will
determine the culpable liability of the
accused. The recommendation for
monetary relief need not wait till the
conclusion of criminal trial.' The
Commission has also asked for a
compliance report with proof of
payment within eight weeks from the
date of receipt of its recommendations.
The encounter happened on the
outskirts of village Jharodakalan in the
National Capital on the 16th October,
2002 and the Commission took up the
case on a complaint dated 2nd
December, 2002 filed by Mr. Dayanand
father of Mandeep Singh.
He alleged that eight police officials of
Delhi Police in plain cloths came in their
private Maruti cars and arrested his son
Mandeep and three other persons
namely, Vicky, Sandeep Malik and
Krishan Gulia, from Hanuman
Properties, Vivekanand Vihar,
Bahadurgarh and forcibly took them
away with an intention to kill them.
And true to his apprehension, he alleged
that his son Mandeep and Vicky were
murdered by those police officials near
ganda naala of village, Jharodakalan,
Najafgarh.
In response to Commission's notice in
the case, the report of Deputy
Commissioner of Police, Vigilance,
Delhi Police dated 1st September, 2003
said that both Mandeep and Vicky
were criminals, and they were killed
in cross firing which started when
instead of surrendering to the police
party they started firing at them.
Krishan Gulia and Sandeep Malik were
over powered by the police party.
He also said that as per the directions
of the High Court, the case was being
investigated by the Central Bureau of
Investigation. Subsequently, the DIG,
CBI in his investigation report dated
28th September, 2005 intimated to the
Commission that the claim of the Delhi
Police raiding party was found to be
false. It said that both Mandeep and
Vicky were killed in a fake encounter.
The report also proposed prosecution
of the accused police officers under
Section 120-B read with Section 364,
302 of IPC and substantive offices
thereof.
On the basis of this report, the
Commission observed that prima facie
it was a case of violation of victims'
human rights and issued notice to the
Government of NCT of Delhi to show
cause why monetary relief should not
be given to the next of kin of Mandeep
and Vicky. Not convinced by the reply,
the Commission recommended
payment of monetary relief.
NHRC indicts Maharashtra
Government over its failure in
protecting people from violence by
MNS; Recommends Rs. 10 lakhs
monetary relief to the victims of
violence
The National
Human Rights
Commission
says, the
Maharashtra
Government
failed to take
timely action
for the protection of citizens in the
wake of hate campaign launched
against migrants by the Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena activists in the State.
While taking up the two specific
incidents of violence, among others,
unleashed by MNS activists causing
death, injury and destruction of
property, the Commission
recommended that the State
Government pay rupees five lakhs
each to the next of kin of Vinod Singh
and Amba Das who lost their lives in
mob violence in Mumbai and adjoining
areas in Maharashtra.
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
Vinod Singh, a Security Guard in Jindal
Company, lost his life in the violence
at Nasik. He was living in the company
worker's colony when it was attacked
by MNS activists. Another person
named Amba Das died following fatal
injury caused in stone pelting by a
riotous mob on the bus carrying him
and his colleagues of HAL. The bus
was attacked in Rajyog Mangal
Karyalaya on Mumbai Nasik highway.
Both the incidents happened on the 13th
February, 2008.
The Commission took up the matter
in a suo motu cognizance of media
reports carried on the 14th & 15th
February, 2008, and issued notice on
the 18th February, 2008 to the Chief
Secretary, Maharashtra Government
calling for factual report about the
incidents violence. Later on, the
Commission also received complaints
on the same issue of violence by MNS
activists against non Maharashtrians
from Shri Amar Singh, Member of
Parliament, Uttar Bhartiya Shramik
Elgar and Jai Hind Jhuggi Jhopadi
Sangh, Mumbai. These were clubbed
with the case No. 2486/13/1/07/07-08
already under process in the
Commission.
In response to Commission's notice,
the Government of Maharashtra
confirmed these two incidents of
violence vide letter dated 21st April,
2008. It also informed that FIRs were
duly registered in respect of both the
incidents and some miscreants were
arrested.
However, after considering the report,
the Commission observed that the State
Government failed to explain as to what
preventive measures it had taken to
protect the inhabitants of the workers'
colony and to restrain the unruly people
from gathering there. It also asked
details of steps taken by the
Government in the wake of MNS
18
agitation to protect the migrant people
from the violence unleashed by the
agitators.
In subsequent notices and directions,
the Commission also asked the State
Government to report whether any
financial assistance had been given to
the families of Vinod Singh and Amba
Das; whether any compensation was
paid to those whose huts in the
workers' colony of Jindal Company
were set on fire.
The State Government informed the
Commission through its letter dated
15th September, 2009 that financial
assistance of rupees one lakh each had
been given to the families of the
deceased persons. It also provided a
list of persons who were given
financial assistance and compensation
in cases of injury and damage to the
property respectively.
The Commission, however, took the
view that the amount of rupees one lakh
was grossly inadequate for the loss of
human life. A show cause notice was,
therefore, issued on the 16th November,
2009 to the Government of Maharashtra.
It was called upon to explain why the
Commission should not recommend
payment of rupees five lakhs each for
the families of the victims.
In response, the State Government
submitted that financial assistance to
the victims of famine or communal
riots or terrorist attacks is given in
accordance with the policy approved
vide the State Government order dated
24th August, 2004, and such financial
assistance cannot exceed rupees one
lakh. It also pleaded that the State is
not in a position to provide monetary
relief of rupees five lakhs as proposed
by the Commission.
The Commission found no merit in the
plea taken by the State Government.
The Commission on the 8th February,
2010 re-iterated its observations in its
proceedings dated the 16th November,
2009 that "a campaign for hatred had
been launched against non-
Maharashtrians in the region and it was
the constitutional duty of the State
Government to safeguard the lives of
the migrant people. It is unfortunate
that the State Government did not
muster the political will to rein in the
divisive forces and failed to take timely
action for the protection of citizens.
The persons who lost their life were
poor labourers. Their families have lost
bread earners and the Government
cannot evade its liability to give
appropriate relief on the ground of
financial constraints."
The Commission said that the State
Government of Maharashtra pay
monetary relief to the next of kin of
deceased as recommended. It has also
asked for compliance report with a
proof of payment within eight weeks.
NHRC's review meeting on
Mental Health Care in Southern
Region
The National Human Rights
Commission is holding Southern
Region review meeting on Mental
Health held on 12th March, 2010 at
Y.W.C.A. in Chennai. It was organized
in collaboration with the Institute of
Mental Health (IMH), Chennai. NHRC
Member, Mr. P.C. Sharma inaugurated
the meeting. The States/UTs covered
in this review meeting include
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Andaman
& Nicobar and Lakshadweep. During
the meeting the points of discussion
were:
- Overall conditions in mental
hospitals;
- Status of implementation of
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
District mental health
programme;
- Status of proposals of mental
hospitals and District hospital
pending with State Government
for augmenting facilities as well
as granting permission to carry
out teaching courses;
- Modified steps proposed.
NHRC Secretary General, Mr. K.S.
Money addressed the participants.
Important functionaries and other
stakeholders including representatives
of the State health machinery also
attended the meeting. The review
meeting is in continuation with NHRC's
involvement in monitoring of the
mental health care system in the
country. In this connection,
Commission has made a number of
recommendations to all the concerned
authorities. The review meetings of
various States divided into five zones
of the country are being held in this
context. Prior to this, the review
meetings of mental health care system
in Eastern, Western and North-Eastern
zones have been held.
The Commission has observed that
though the financial resources and
infrastructure of most hospitals have
improved several areas of functioning
and quality of mental health care still
remains critical.
NHRC asks Railway Board to pay
Rs. 5 lakhs as monetary relief to
a severely injured boy, pushed
from a train
The National
Human Rights
Commission has
recommended
that the Railway
Board pay Rs. 5 lakhs as monetary
relief to Master Samar Singh, aged 12
years, who sustained severe injuries
and lost his right hand and leg when
he was pushed from the Geetanjali
19
Express by a TTE, Navneet Mishra.
The incident happened on the 2nd July,
2008. The boy was serving voluntarily
as a sweeper on the train.
A case under Section 341/337/338/
307/325 IPC on FIR No. 76 against
the TTE is already registered and he
was arrested on the 4th July, 2008. A
charge sheet against him has already
been filed in the Court.
The Commission took up the matter
on a complaint filed by Mr. Ramesh
Kumar Mandal which was registered
as a case no. 265/18/34/08-09. Keeping
in view the facts and circumstances
of the matter, the Commission found
it a case of gross violation of human
rights of the victim and issued notice
to the Railway Board.
Having received no response from the
Railway Board to its show cause notice
despite reminders, the Commission
presumed that the Railway Board has
nothing to say against the notice.
Therefore, in its recommendatory
order on the 5th March, 2010, the
Commission observed that the callous,
insensible and heartless act of that
TTE, Navneet Mishra, has made
Master Samar Singh disabled for life.
Keeping in view the life long misery of
the victim, the Commission
recommended that in addition to paying
the monetary relief amount, the
Railway Board shall arrange to provide
artificial limbs to the victim at its own
expenses.
As the child is minor, the amount for
monetary relief shall be deposited in
his name in a fixed deposit in a
nationalized bank with a facility to
withdraw interest accrued thereon
every month. The Commission has
directed the Secretary, Railway Board
to submit compliance report along with
the proof of payment within Six
Weeks.
HC asks Nanavati Commission to
clarify stand on summoning Modi
The Gujarat
High Court
on Monday
asked the
Nanavati
Commission,
probing the
2002 riot cases, to clarify by April 1
whether it will summon Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi in the matter.
A division bench of Chief Justice S J
Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil
Kureshi sought this information from
the government pleader while hearing
an appeal by Jan Sangarsh Manch
(JSM), an NGO representing the 2002
riot victims.
When the matter came up for hearing
today the court asked the government
pleader to get clarification from
Nanavati Commission by April 1 with
regard to its order of September 2009,
and inform the court whether its
decision not to summon Modi and
others was a final decision or a
tentative one.
Nanavati Commission, in September
last year had disposed of JSM's
application asking for summoning of
Modi and others saying that it did not
find justification in cross-examining
them at that point of time for the
purpose stated by JSM.
The Commission had further stated in
the order that allegations made in JSM's
application were vague and based on
wrong or unwarranted assumptions.
JSM had sought quashing of the
Nanavati Commission's order in the
Gujarat High Court and prayed that
Modi and three others -- the then home
minister Gordhan Zadafia, health
minister Ashok Bhat and DCP Zone 5,
R J Savani-- be called for cross
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
examination with regard to the 2002
riots.
A single bench of Justice K S Jhaveri
dismissed JSM'spetition in November
last year saying that the Commission
has not completed its inquiry and still
has power to summon Modi under
section 8(b) of Commissions of
Inquiry Act.
The JSM then filed an appeal before a
division bench where it sought
quashing of Commission's order and
issuance of summons to Modi and
three others for cross examination
with regard to the 2002 riots.
The Nanavati Commission had last
month informed the High Court on the
status of its inquiry.
The Commission in its letter had said
that it had completed analysis of all
evidences collected and statements
recorded and was about to begin
writing the report.
The process of writing the report was
likely to take 3-4 months, it had said.
The Commission stated that it had
probed about 4,145 cases which took
place between February 27, 2002 and
May 31, 2002.
Modi was summoned by the Special
Investigation Team appointed by
Supreme Court yesterday in Gulburg
society riot case but he failed to appear
before the team.
Pay compensation for torture:
NHRC Defence Secretary asked
to submit proof of payment within
six weeks
New Delhi: The
National Human
R i g h t s
Commission has
asked the Centre
20
to pay a compensation of Rs.50,000
each to two residents of Assam who
were caught and allegedly tortured by
Army personnel last year on suspicion
that they had links with ULFA.
The Commission also asked the Union
Defence Secretary to submit a
compliance report along with proof of
payment of the compensation within
six weeks.
Personnel of Maibel Base Army Camp
had caught Bhadrakanta Baruah and
Ghana Neog, both residents of
Tokolimara village, and allegedly beaten
them up on January 31 last year
suspecting them of having links with
ULFA militants. They were taken to an
army camp where they were allegedly
assaulted. Baruah charged that he was
administered electric shocks.
They were later handed over to the
police for interrogation. They were
released thereafter as nothing
incriminating was found against them,
the NHRC noted.
In its reply to the Commission's show-
cause notice, the Defence Ministry said
the two villagers were caught on the
basis of reliable intelligence inputs
saying the duo had “harboured and
provided food and shelter” to ULFA
cadres on January 28.
The Ministry also claimed that during
questioning Baruah and Neog had
accepted that militants had stayed in
their houses on January 28 before
proceeding to another village next day
but denied that Army men tortured them
while questioning. – PTI
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 International Human Rights Update
UN welcomes verdict on caste-
based discrimination in Nepal
The United
Nations human
rights office in
Nepal on 20th
March 2010
welcomed a key judgment handed
down in a case involving discrimination
on the basis of caste, hailing it as an
important step forward in the fight
against discrimination in the Asian
nation.
Earlier this month, the District Court
in Baitadi, in western Nepal, found a
man guilty of physically assaulting the
father of the groom during a wedding
ceremony in July 2009 for practicing
rituals “reserved for high-caste
communities.” The accused was
sentenced to one year in prison and
fined 5,000 rupees.
In a similar case in January, the same
court issued a verdict, sentencing the
main perpetrator behind attacks against
12 Dalits – or so-called “untouchables”
– for not following discriminatory
rituals at a temple to two years in
prison and a fine of 25,000 rupees.
In a joint statement issued by the
Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-
Nepal), the National Dalit Commission
(NDC) and the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), the three
organizations said that the verdicts are
in accordance with international law.
They are also in line with article 14 of
Nepal's Interim Constitution, which
says that racial discrimination are
punishable and that victims are entitled
to compensation, the statement said.
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
Referring to both the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the
Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, the
Baitadi court stressed that
“discrimination based on the principle
of caste supremacy is? morally
unacceptable, socially unjust and
dangerous.”
But the three organizations expressed
their deep concern that the man found
guilty of assaulting the groom's father
last July has since been nominated for
a public position in the Ministry of
Physical Planning and Works in
Kanchanpur in western Nepal.
“The NDC, NHRC and OHCHR urge
the authorities to abide by the verdict
regarding the above appointment, to
enforce both sentences without delay
and to undertake specific measures to
promote social awareness on the issue
of caste-base discrimination,”
according to today's statement.
No room for racism at this year's
soccer World Cup, UN chief says
Marking the
50th anniversary
of the massacre
of protesters
taking a peaceful
stand against apartheid in South Africa,
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said
in 20 th March 2010 that there is “no
room for racist and xenophobic acts”
at this summer's soccer World Cup in
the country, the first time the event will
ever be held in Africa.
21
The International Day for the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination is
observed every year on 21 March to
commemorate the gunning down of the
dozens of protestors in Sharpeville,
South Africa.
On this “solemn anniversary,” the
worst must reaffirm its commitment
to “guard against a repeat of the
horrors rooted in racism,” ranging
from slavery to ethnic cleansing and
genocide, Mr. Ban said in a message
to commemorate the Day.
This year's observance takes on added
significance as South Africa prepares
to hold the World Cup, and he stressed
that the world has a collective
responsibility to make sure that no
racist or xenophobic acts take place,
either inside or outside football
stadiums.
“More broadly,” the Secretary-General
said, “we must push for all sports
organizations to adopt stringent anti-
discrimination policies, as well as
frameworks for punishing the
perpetrators of racist incidents and
justice for the victims.”
The International Day is also an
opportunity to highlight the powerful
role played by sports to bring people
of all backgrounds and cultures closer
together, he pointed out. “Sports can
empower disenfranchised
communities, influence our
perceptions and inspire millions of
people around the world.”
The memory of the Sharpeville
massacre's victims, Mr. Ban said,
should be honoured by stepping up
efforts worldwide to stamp out all
forms of racism and racial
discrimination.
“Let us cherish the rich diversity of
humankind and respect the inherent
dignity and equality of every human
being.”
High Commissioner for Human Rights
Navi Pillay echoed the Secretary-
General's sentiments that this
summer's World Cup provides an
opportunity “both to take a fresh look
at the issue of racism in sport, and to
enhance sport's tremendous potential
to undermine racism, xenophobia and
similar forms of intolerance in wider
society.”
In a statement marking the
International Day, she noted that racism
continues to be a problem in sports in
many countries, and she urged sports
administrators to follow the lead set
by two of the world's top soccer
authorities – FIFA and UEFA – to put
into place campaigns to banish it at all
levels.
Recalling “disgraceful” incidents at
football stadiums where fans have
verbally players on the basis of their
race, Ms. Pillay pointed out that while
FIFA rules allow for points to be
deducted when clubs have not take
appropriate action, national leagues
often do not apply such rules.
“On occasions, rich clubs and rich
national bodies have escaped with
derisory fines of a few thousand dollars
after serious racist incidents during
matches,” she said, urging national
football authorities everywhere to
“back their strong rhetoric with serious
and consistent disincentives, including
stadium bans, and point deductions.
Until they do so, the admirable goal of
eradicating racism in football will not
be achieved.”
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
Although racial diversity is now the
norm on the football field, minorities
continue to be “disturbingly” under-
represented at managerial levels, the
High Commissioner said.
“The role of sports in changing
attitudes towards racism is potentially
immense – especially sports like
football which attract huge and
passionate live and TV audiences,” she
said. “I sincerely hope that the 2010
World Cup will not only be a successful
and joyous event in its own right, but
that it will also stimulate further
sustained effort to eradicate racism
from sport, and through this powerful
vector help extend more positive
attitudes towards minorities and
migrants to society at large.”
For their part, UN independent human
rights experts noted that “racism is not
only yesterday's problem – but an
immense challenge for today.”
The scourge continues to plague every
society and causes suffering for
millions worldwide, they said.
“The 50th anniversary of the
Sharpeville events is a day to remember
and to pay tribute to the many who
fell, but also the many who continue
the struggle against racism – helping
to make a difference to their own lives
and the lives of others,” the experts
said, praising the courage and
determination of those endeavouring to
end segregation and racism while
boosting understanding and
acceptance.
Too many countries, they underlined,
are not carrying out their obligations
against racism, with some even being
perpetrators of it.
“Everyday, in every region, often in the
face of adversity, people stand up
against racism and injustice,” the group
22
said. “Those people should expect the
States where they live to be their
strongest allies, protecting and
supporting in their daily fight against
racism.”
The UN Educational, Cultural and
Scientific Organization (UNESCO) is
using its partnership with the football
club FC Barcelona to kick off an anti-
racism campaign on 24 March at the
teams game against Osasuna. This will
be followed by other activities
throughout the year at which Barcelona
players will add their voices to the
rejection of racism.
Human rights situation in DPR
Korea is bleak, independent UN
expert says
The many instances
of harrowing and
horrific human
rights violations in
Vitit Muntarbhorn, the Democratic
human rights People’s Republic of
Special Rapporteur
Korea (DPRK) will
in the DPRK
continue unless
certain measures at the national and
international levels are taken, the United
Nations Special Rapporteur on human
rights in the country said.
“From witnessing the human rights
situation in the country for the past six
years, one finding is glaring: the abuses
against the general population, for
which authorities should be
responsible, are both egregious and
endemic,” said Special Rapporteur Vitit
Muntarbhorn, introducing his final
report today to the UN Human Rights
Council in Geneva. Mr. Muntarbhorn’s
maximum term of six years expires this
year.
“This is not to deny that there have
been some constructive developments
throughout the years,” he added. But
he noted that “the general scenario is
bleak.”
Mr. Muntarbhorn said that the non-
democratic nature of the power base
in the DPRK had created a “State of
Fear” in which military needs are put
ahead of people’s needs.
In his report, he suggested that the
DPRK should immediately cooperate
with UN agencies and other
humanitarian actors, and ensure
effective provision of and access to
food and other basic necessities. He
noted that at the end of 2009,
authorities had imposed a currency
revaluation, causing huge inflation,
particularly affecting the price of food,
and widespread suffering.
He advised a moratorium on capital
punishment and public executions, and
also terminating the punishment for
those who sought asylum abroad and
were sent back.
In addition, the Special Rapporteur
called on the Government to resolve
the issue of foreigners abducted as a
consequence of the Korean War in
1950 to 1953.
In the longer-term, Mr. Muntarbhorn
called for greater people’s participation
in their government which would put
them and their freedoms ahead of
militarization and would abide by
international human rights standards.
The Special Rapporteur noted that the
situation in the DPRK is a “special
challenge of the role of the United
Nations to impel constructive changes
and accountability” and noted the UN
as a tool to hold DPRK accountable
where national institutions had failed.
“Various sources have suggested a
number of ways of making the
powers-that-be accountable
internationally, given that the national
setting is unable or unwilling to press
for such accountability. They include
the possibility of the UN Security
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
Council taking up the issue directly and
of establishing a Commission of
Inquiry on crimes against humanity.”
In response, Choe Myong Nam, a
representative for the DPRK,
categorically rejected the “Special
Rapporteur” and his report. He called
the Special Rapporteur position a
“product of political confrontation
having no relevance with human
rights” and called for the position’s
elimination once and for all.
The representative added that the
position existed as a result of
“resolutions” enforced every year by
the United States, Japan and the
European Union, as part of attempts
to eliminate the State and social system
of the DPRK. As a Special Rapporteur,
Mr. Muntarbhorn serves in an
independent and unpaid capacity and
reports to the Human Rights Council.
The release of his report comes one
month after B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-
Secretary-General for Political Affairs,
visited the DPRK. He held what he
termed “friendly but frank”
discussions on a series of issues,
including nuclear activities and
DPRK’s relations with other countries.
UN expert on genocide prevention
travels to West Africa
Special Adviser
to the Secretary-
General on the
Prevention of
Genocide
Francis Deng, Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon’s Special Adviser on the
prevention of genocide is travelling to
West Africa to identify how national
and sub-regional bodies can help
prevent the scourge.
Due to poor weather, Francis Deng’s
visit was delayed and he is now
scheduled to arrive in the region
23
tomorrow, it was announced in March.
He will stop in Guinea, Nigeria and
Ghana, where he will discuss his
mandate with government officials,
UN officials on the ground and
representatives from the Economic
Community of West African States
(ECOWAS)
.
Mr. Deng, a Sudanese scholar and
advocate, was named to the post by
Mr. Ban in 2007 to collect information
on serious violations of human rights
that could lead to genocide and to bring
potential genocidal situations to the
attention of the Security Council.
After holding a range of positions in
both the UN and the Sudanese
Government, he served as the
Secretary-General’s Special
Representative on Internally Displaced
Persons (IDPs) from 1992-2004.
UN human rights chief voices
concern about abuses in Iran, Sri
Lanka High Commissioner for
Human Rights Navi Pillay
The top United
Nations human
rights official
today voiced
deep concern
about the violent crackdown on dissent
in Iran and the marred prospects for
peace in Sri Lanka, where journalists,
human rights defenders and other
critics of the Government are being
mistreated.
“I am convinced that Sri Lanka should
undertake a full reckoning of the grave
violations committed by all sides during
the war, and that the international
community can be helpful in this
regard,” High Commissioner for
Human Rights Navi Pillay said recently,
presenting her annual report to the 47-
member Human Rights Council in
Geneva.
In May last year Government forces
in Sri Lanka defeated the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), ending
a civil war that had lasted more than
two decades. UN officials have urged
President Mahinda Rajapaksa to keep
his commitment, set out in a joint
statement with the world body last
year, “to ensure full accountability for
any crimes against international
humanitarian law or abuses of human
rights.”
On Iran, Ms. Pillay said she is deeply
concerned about the “deteriorating”
human rights situation there, including
the arbitrary arrest of demonstrators,
rights activists, journalists and
prominent political figures.
“Many have been given harsh
sentences, including capital
punishment, for their role in post-
election protests after questionable
trials,” she noted, adding that she has
discussed these issues with Iranian
officials and has suggested that the
authorities allow her office to visit
Iran.
Turning to Africa, the High
Commissioner said she met with
representatives of Sudan throughout
2009 to expressed concern about
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V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
death sentences and executions in that
country.
Responding to recent report of fighting
between rebel troops and government
forces in Jebel Marra in the Darfur
region of Sudan, Ms. Pillay called on
all parties to “make the protection of
civilians their utmost priority” and
encouraged armed movements “to
enter into dialogue for peace and to
respect the right to life.”
On Guinea, Ms. Pillay praised the
“excellent cooperation” between the
UN, the African Union and the
Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) in investigating the
28 September security force
crackdown on unarmed
demonstrators, in which at least 150
people were killed and many others
raped.
Acting on one of the recommendations
of the Commission of Inquiry which
resulted, the Office for the High
Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) may establish an office in
Guinea.
In her wide-ranging speech, Ms. Pillay
reiterated her call from earlier this
week for the Egyptian Government to
24
immediately order its security forces
to stop using “lethal force” against
migrants trying to enter Israel through
the Sinai Desert. There have been some
60 fatal shootings over the past two
and a half years, she noted.
The High Commissioner also cited her
office’s priority for combating
discrimination against migrants and
minorities in Europe, such as Roma,
who appear to be living in deteriorating
conditions in countries such as Slovakia
and the Czech Republic.
Ms. Pillay said she planned to raise the
issue of discrimination and attacks
against Roma and other migrants with
Italian authorities during her visit to that
country next week.
In May, she plans to visit Russia where
attacks against human rights defenders
too often go unpunished, she stated.
Offering praise to Mongolia, Ms. Pillay
noted that President Tsakhia Elbegdorj
had announced a formal moratorium
on the death penalty. She also
highlighted the work of several
Member States that are addressing this
issue in the Asia-Pacific region, where
more executions take place than in the
rest of the world combined.
 Slums In Metropolis:
Introduction
In this modern era of information age,
the rapid development of computers,
telecommunication and other technolo-
gies have led to the new forms of so-
cial issues under the umbrella of Glo-
balization, Liberalization and Privatiza-
tion (LPG). It is a well known fact that
media is very important for the devel-
opment of social capitals in terms of
mentality, psychology and above all the
culture.
Besides all the contributions of mass
media in the developmental journey of
the Indian social system, we can’t ig-
nore various ill effects of mass media
in Indian social system like
Objectification of women, Vulgarity
and obscenity, Criminalization in soci-
ety, Decline in concept of ‘Simple Liv-
ing and High Thinking’, The way of
fashion (media portrays), Materialis-
tic nature of human beings, Suppres-
sion of human rights, etc.
Objective
• To find out the value and de-
valuation of women’s image
through television programmes.
• To mark out possible
reasons and rem-
edies which are be-
ing used to solve the
problems
Methodology
The study was conducted in
Delhi - NCR region and sub-
jects were selected on the
basis of random sampling.
Result and Discussion
In this research paper, the
focus is on one of the is-
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
The Bane of Urban India
sues which needs especial attention i.e.
“Devaluation of Women’s Image on
Television”. The role of Electronic
Media especially Television in the In-
dian society is that of structured sub-
ordination to the primary definers. Be-
ing wholly state-controlled, the primary
definer is the state itself. In this re-
search, more than 50 women based
Television Serials like Balika Vadhu,Jeet
Jayenge Hum, Antra,1224 Karol Bagh,
Sajan Garh Jana Hai, Godbharai, Pavita
Rista,Ganesh Leela, Laado etc. have
been analysed. The findings have
shown that the medium’s output is bi-
ased in favour of male elites; feminine
genders are constructed as polar op-
posites. As per the findings there are
five basic characteristics of electronic
media, identified as common to all cul-
tures:
• Women are under –representa-
tion in general, and occupy less
central roles than men in televi-
sion.
25
- Abhishek K. Singh
• Marriage and parenthood are
considered more important to
women than, the traditional di-
vision of labour is shown as
typical in marriage.
• Employed women are shown in
traditionally female occupation
as subordinate to men with lit-
tle status or power.
• Women on television are more
passive than men.
• Television ignores or distorts the
women movement.
It was noted that such representation
was the consequence of the develop-
ment of a nation - popular will aided
through centuries of religious and cul-
tural indoctrination. The electronic me-
dia is now expanding to reach the whole
world. It has immense possibility for
strengthening hegemony; in the con-
text of the developing countries which
are oriented towards a communal out-
door culture, the institutionalization of
studio-based electronic media is un-
leashing a corrosive, coercive force.
The modern trend towards commer-
cialization greatly expands the
hegemonial grip of the me-
dium; on the one side it con-
sistently devalues women,
on other side it holds up as
desirable values of bourgeois
liberalism, individual gain
and subsequent consumer-
ism. Thus, educated per-
sons view their own and the
country’s progress and de-
velopment in terms of goods
and services available to the
elite. In general TV serials,
the woman in the commer-
cial is completely objectified, other
than displaying her body and the fab-
rics she, does nothing of her person-
ality and achievement is known. It is
really an alarming situation as there are
number of social crimes which may
get powered by the footage of such
serials, people may get positive wipes
and act in the same manner and it might
result increase in criminalization in In-
dian family.
The most hackneyed
feature films or serial
can attract more
viewers than non-fic-
tion programmes,
trend which helps to
inscribe values which
are far from empow-
ering to women. It is
also very important to
inform that percep-
tion of Television out-
put is both horizontal
and longitudinal. Ac-
tually, India is ideo-
logically highly devel-
oped and the sophis-
tication of its ideologi-
cally apparatuses
goes a long way towards explaining
why its socio-economic inequalities’
continue to persist. In the sample, all
the statement given by audience were
critically analyzed and the common
wordings in these statements are:
Bechari, Suppressed, Depressed, Ne-
glected, Weak women of typical In-
dian society. Another disturbing trend
was also noted as the side-stepping of
the local government and bureaucracy
in favor of one individual. Development
is presented as taking place therefore
not as a planned, ongoing, long term
process. All these finding in this analy-
sis clearly show that mass media is
very important for the development of
society as it improve the efficiency and
reliability of social values for coopera-
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
tion, politeness, tolerance for people
with different behavior and customs,
respect for law and order. But if such
message and script served regularly to
the family, we can easily judge the
image of women community in future.
Conclusion
It is well marked that the important
activities is associate with the content
of the script as it would be enough if
not better to change the attitude of the
audience so as to induce a different
decoding of the message ,such decod-
ing can isolate the denying consent to
the hegemonial order. Without such
consent and complicity the order can
only collapse. However, important the
movement media is the struggle to al-
ter the face of the maintain media is
equally important for three reasons:-
• Since most of these are state-
owned, the citizens, whether
women or the poor, have a right
to equitable representation on
these media.
• The relentless negative repre-
sentation has the effect as we
have seen, of validating wom-
en’s inferiority as real and natu-
26
ral. Under such conditions the
messages of the movement
media are likely to be decoded
as aberrant.
• The processes by which chil-
dren acquire sex-appropriate
behavior. It was noted in the
theoretical considerations one
process as explicated by the
gender-scheme theory. If chil-
dren are to acquire balanced
conception of both genders,
they need to be ex-
posed to equitable rep-
resentation as the
norm. Stray-feminist
films are likely to be
processed as aberra-
tions.
Hence, on a medium
which is insidiously
influencing tomor-
row’s policy makers,
the requirement is for
every programme to
consider issues of
gender and class eq-
uity and it is possible
when media provides
healthy content to the
family serials not only to minimize or-
thodox philosophy but also to protect
the social culture by maintaining posi-
tive standard of media.
Reference:
1. M.K. Joseph, Socio. & Comm.
Revolution, Anmol Pub.1997
2. Mass Communication and Develop-
ment, B.R. Gupta, Vishwavidyala
Prakashan, Varanasi
(The author is a Lecturer in
Madhu Bala Institute of
Communication & Electronic Media
affiliated to
GGSIP University, Delhi
and can be reached at
abhisheksingh233@yahoo.co.in)
 Obama’s Health Bill:
O
n one look at the health condi
tion of America, you will find
there are heart diseases plagu-
ing various parts, partial paralytic at-
tacks resulting in atrophy and many
other medical complications originat-
ing from aging. Obama's recently pro-
posed and accepted health bill will of-
fer health insurance to 45 million Ameri-
cans who did not have any coverage
previously. It will be a help for the
citizens who had been under-insured.
The health bill is going to add hopes to
thousands of campaigns for health
improvement which includes heart is-
sues and a number of dangerous com-
municable diseases besides cancer re-
lated problems. Why? Because most
of these health campaigns earlier were
looked at as threats for the common
man's pocket and resulted in giving in,
therefore, to medical complications.
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
Is It A Victory for Capitalism?
- Ashish Maggo
People are definitely going to lead a
Al Gore had warned Americans earlier
freer life. Besides, employees will be about the tendency to find problems
more committed to their respective or- with everything. His future generations
ganisations because of the exit of fear do not remember his gospel. Also, the
of their medical insurances(Mediclaim) fight between the Republicans and
being scrapped up on being fired in- Democrats has to be sidelined when
discriminately. In Academy Award win- we talk of public welfare.To blame
ning filmmaker Michael Moore's Obama of concentrating more on the
words- "The health bill is a victory for health bill rather than the economy is
capitalism". childish. If you have inducted some-
body to power, give him space to act.
In hope, there lies victory.
However, there is a fear of people turn-
ing to smoking and drinking more be- - The author is pursuing Bachelor in
cause they know smaller consequences Journalism & Mass Communication
of these evils will be insured by their from Madhu Bala Institute of
Mediclaims. It could also mean a deg- Communication & Electronic Media,
radation in the quality of service of the affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh
hospital industry as more people will Indraprastha University, Delhi
turn to doctors for smaller issues.
Overall I'm glad that the bill did not
get rejected as poor people also de-
serve a chance to get health treatment.
It is a historic legislation cracking
down on insurance company abuses
and is the end of a century long quest
for nationwide coverage which we are
also trying to achieve here in India. It
is definitely a step towards economic
equality.The care which needs to be
exercised lies in the issues of doctor
shortage, medical abuse and illegal
immigrants.
However, when Obama's health care
reform bill was finally passed by the
US Congress, it was but a narrowed
win for President Obama. The public
opinion has reflected the reality that
there are indeed more Americans who
oppose the health care bill as well as
Obama as President.
27
 Curing the Ills of India:
Need for Basic Comprehensive Social Security for All
C
omprehensive Social Security
(CSS) shoule be the utmost pri
ority of any government if real
governance is to be covered to all the
people of India, and this CSS should
address to the following most basic so-
cial requirements of human beings, in
the given order:
(i) Food and Clothing,
(ii) Security,
(iii) Education,
(iv) Healthcare, and
(v) Housing.
It may be true that due to paucity of
resources in our country, it may not
be possible to provide funds for cater-
ing to the aforesaid basic needs of all
the people of the country at a high
standard. But come what may, the Gov-
ernment of India must arrange for its
people (i) basic minimum food, cloth,
and reasonable security for their sheer
survival, (ii) education at least up to
upper primary school (Class VIII) for
their further development, (iii) primary
healthcare at least to take care of their
most basic natural requirements, like,
child-birth, fever, diarrhoea, injuries,
prevention from communicable dis-
eases as well as unforeseen ailments,
such as, cancer, and (iv) housing at
least to cover their heads from the open
sky, so as to enable all the citizens to
stand up on their own feet and forge
ahead to explore possibilities for fur-
ther empowerment of their lives. This
may look too simple or even over sim-
plified but sometimes even the most
complicated problems get precipitated
because of innocuous looking causes
at their roots.
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
If the Government of India undertakes
to fulfil its obligation for meeting out
the basic requirements of its people,
the remaining problems of the people,
like, poverty, unemployment, exploi-
tation of weaker sections, suppression
of human rights, population explosion,
degradation of natural environment,
mass discontentment manifested in
various dreaded forms, like, naxalism;
extremism; other heinous crime-related
activities; etc., will gradually fade
away in oblivion very soon.
It is not that the Government of India
is not trying to uplift the level of wel-
fare of its people but the irony is that it
is not focusing on the right target, in-
stead, it is trying too many piece-meal
solutions which cannot yield satisfac-
tory results and are bound to fail or at
best can only provide temporary suc-
cour to the people. The hundreds of
social welfare schemes of the Govern-
ment of India and the governments of
various states of India are analogous
to cleaning up of leaves and brushing
of stems of a plant instead of applying
water to its roots.
The basic requirements of the people
should be chosen as per their natural
needs. It is apparent that neither a child
with empty stomach can be educated
nor a hungry adult can ever be
optimally productive. Similarly, if a per-
son feels insecure by way of appre-
hension to the well being of his chil-
dren, he will hesitate to send them to
any school or to a vocational training
28
- Dr. Prem Kumar Sinha
centre. To clarify the point, some re-
cent incidents, which were reported
in newspapers, regarding real life
atrocities perpetuated against girls in
our country are provided:
(i) Young school girls of class III
& IV of an English medium pri-
mary school, were being ex-
ploited by their Principal, who
would call these girls for extra
tuitions on a Saturday and in-
stead of teaching them, he
would molest them and also
threaten them of dire conse-
quences including failing them
in the examinations if they re-
ported these things to anyone.
(ii) An eighteen year old dalit girl,
taking training to be a primary
school teacher, was repeatedly
exploited by a few male teach-
ers for a long period with the
threat that she would be failed
if she reported the matter to
anyone.
People experience even more harrow-
ing incidents in their real lives. How-
ever, a few samples have been narrated
just with the purpose of highlighting
the urgent need to provide meaningful
security to the people of the country,
otherwise lofty dreams of the political
masters of the country, like, universal
primary education, universal
healthcare, abolition of child labour, and
on the top of all, empowerment of
weaker sections of the country, will
just remain pipe dreams for all times
to come. And the succeeding genera-
tions of political leaders will have to
apologize to the people of the country
for the incompetence of the earlier gen-
erations of political masters in the same
way as the Canadian Prime Minister
Stephan Harper apologized on the 11th
June, 2008, to the Aboriginal people
of Canada for the past abuses and ex-
ploitation of various kinds suffered by
the Aboriginal children during their
schooling days. Not long ago, the
Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd
had also apologized on the 13th Feb-
ruary 2008, to the Aborigines and
Torres Strait Islanders of Australia, for
the exploitation and maltreatment suf-
fered by the past genera-
tions of these people.
In a nutshell, one can say
that the food and security
are the most basic needs of
human beings. And many
poor people of India spend
most of their lives in search
of food and security, with-
out their ever enjoying the
comfort and dignity, human
beings deserve on account
of advancement of their
civilization and superior in-
tellect in comparison to
other living creatures on this
planet.
One can easily dispel the thought of
providing the basic CSS to all the peo-
ple of the county by counter-argu-
ments that the Indian Government
lacks resources for this mammoth task
of providing basic CSS to all the citi-
zens, however, the truth is otherwise
and the following narration will dem-
onstrate as to how easily resources can
be generated for meeting out the basic
requirements of the people.
However, before we embark upon the
mission to find out resources for pro-
viding basic CSS to all, first we should
try to estimate the total requirement of
funds for providing basic CSS to all
the people of India, whether they be-
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
long to the Below Poverty Line (BPL)
group or the Above Poverty Line (APL)
group. One may argue that the people
of the APL group, who would also be
comprising rich and super rich, need
not be considered for this CSS cover
as they do not need it apparently. FIt
is of course clear that rich and super-
rich surely do not need any kind of
subsidies. But because of existing poli-
cies of the Government, the people of
the APL category are already enjoying
lion’s share of government subsidies
in their daily lives, like, (i) low-cost
food-grains on account of suppressed
Minimum Support Prices which are
thrust upon hapless farmers, who are
denied free-market for marketing of
their agricultural produce in the coun-
try as well as in the international mar-
ket, (ii) subsidized electricity, (iii) sub-
sidized fuel (LPG), (iii) economical la-
bour because poor people have limited
bargaining power for seeking employ-
ment with decent remuneration,
whether they are employed as farm-
labour or factory-labour or unskilled
worker or even when they are em-
ployed as domestic help, (v) highly
subsidized higher education which is
mostly enjoyed by the upper crust of
people whether belonging to the gen-
eral category or the OBC category or
the SC/ST category, etc.
29
Just to illustrate this point of view, a
few areas are identfied where the Gov-
ernment of India (GOI) subsidizes, but
a major portion of it is consumed by
25% population of the country, say 250
millions, who comprise people of
higher income groups of the society:
1. Considering that a higher in-
come group household, com-
prising four members, con-
sumes 12 LPG cylinders per
annum then as per the estimated
subsidy of Rs.300/- per LPG
cylinder (which keeps on
changing as per the interna-
tional prices of petroleum
products), a subsidy of
Rs.3600/- per annum per
household, i.e., Rs.900/- per
person per annum is en-
joyed by these higher in-
come group people,
whereas the poor people
even do not have means to
avail of benefits of subsi-
dized LPG. In fact, the rich
people consume even more
LPG by way of using LPG
for their room heaters and
geysers in the winter be-
sides running their motor vehi-
cles and generators on the sub-
sidized LPG.
2. Similarly, if we take into ac-
count the government subsidy
on fertilizers, which is estimated
by the Ministry of Fertilizers of
the GOI, to be about Rs.1000
billion for the fiscal 2007-08, it
is guesstimated that more than
half of this subsidy, i.e., more
than 500 billion, is enjoyed by
the upper crust of the people by
way of higher consumption of
food-grains, pulses, vegetables,
fruits, milk and other products
which are derived from fodder
consuming animals. Thus, it
can be said that, on an average,
 a subsidy of Rs.2000/- per per-
son per annum is enjoyed by the
people belonging to the upper
crust of the society on this head,
also.
3. Now, if we assume that on an
average, one child of a house-
hold belonging to the higher in-
come group, receives higher
education (undergraduate or
above) for a duration of 5 years
in a government-aided educa-
tional institution,
for which as per
conservative esti-
mates, on an av-
erage, Govern-
ment spends
around Rs.0.1 mil-
lion per student
per annum, then a
total subsidy of
Rs.0.5 million is
availed of by this
household on this
head, too. Consid-
ering that a full
span of birth and
higher education
of children, takes a period of
twenty five years then it turns
out that a sum of Rs.20,000/-
per annum is spent by the Gov-
ernment on every household of
higher income groups, which
amounts to a subsidy of about
Rs.5000/- per person per annum
(assuming 4 persons per house-
hold) for the people belonging
to the higher income groups.
4. Thus, the total value of the
aforesaid estimated subsidies
amounts to about Rs.7900/- per
person per annum, for the peo-
ple of the higher income groups,
even when many other items on
which subsidies exist, like in-
expensive food-grains, eco-
nomical manual labour, as al-
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
ready discussed in the begin-
ning, have not been included in
this subsidy estimate. Besides
the above estimated subsidies,
there are many other hidden
subsidies in the form of other
amenities, benefits of which
mostly percolate towards the
people of the urban areas where
majority of people of high in-
come groups reside, like, (i)
updated healthcare facilities, (ii)
better law and order conditions
due to closer support of police
and civil administration, (iii)
proximity to various govern-
ment offices, (iv) better net-
work of electric and water sup-
ply, (v) better infrastructure of
road-network, (vi) developed
retail and wholesale markets,
etc., in which Government
keeps on investing millions of
rupees year after year. Whereas
rural and less developed areas
where more than 60% popula-
tion of the country resides, a
large majority of whom are
poor, remain deprived from the
aforesaid amenities.
Supposedly, if the existing regime of
disproportional subsidies is re-visited
and all the people of the country are
30
provided with the same amount of sub-
sidy in the form of basic CSS or com-
pensation in lieu thereof in other meas-
ures then the net outgo from the cof-
fer of the Government of India will not
be substantially higher than what is be-
ing spent, presently, by the Central
Government and the governments of
various states of India in the form of
various kinds of subsidies, tax exemp-
tions, and hundreds of other populist
welfare schemes in vogue in the coun-
try, which cater to the specified target
groups along with huge
pilferages and tremen-
dous administrative
costs attached for their
implementation.
Moreover, such populist
welfare measures only
spoil those for whom
these are meant, besides
eroding the competitive
spirit of the society at
large. I will delve later the
various measures which
can be employed effort-
lessly to generate mas-
sive savings, from elimi-
nating the superfluous subsidies which
are being presently showered on the
people of the APL category.
But it should not be feared that the cut
of subsidies which are presently en-
joyed by the people of the APL cat-
egory, will in any way, lower the qual-
ity of their lives, in fact, it will improve
their lives because from the generated
savings, the whole county will pros-
per at a rapid pace and give rise to the
feeling of social security among all the
masses. Moreover, the people on the
verge of poverty or those nominally
above the poverty line, will also not
feel the impact of reduction of subsi-
dies. It will be only those people, who
belong to the upper class and consume
much more resources than the aver-
age people, who will experience some
financial impact but they are already
well off in comparison to others and
thus they are very well positioned to
easily withstand the effect of reduc-
tion of subsidies. Further, how is this
justified that the extravagant living of
rich people should be subsidized from
the sweat and hard labour of poor peo-
ple of the country? In India, the rich
enjoy exclusive privileges, at the cost
of government resources and the poor
are denied even their basic dues with
the justification, as portrayed beauti-
fully in the following words of
John Kenneth Galbraith, “There
is a common tendency to ignore
the poor or to develop some ra-
tionalisation for the good fortune
of the fortunate”.
Presently, majority of the people
of the country feel insecure; the
people of the APL category re-
main apprehensive that they are
vulnerable to assault on their prop-
erty and lives in the present day
volatile environment, while on the other
hand, the people of the BPL category
feel insecure as they always remain
sceptical about the future of theirs and
their families. People of the BPL cat-
egory remain unsure whether they
would even be able to provide adequate
food and take care of their families,
without interruption in future? The
questions of good education, sound
healthcare, and safe housing, seldom
occupy top priority in the minds of the
poor people, because the worries of
food and security keep haunting them
all the time. The immediate impact of
equitable distribution of resources
among the masses would be that all
the young people of the country will
have reasonable opportunity for
growth in the early formative days of
their lives, which are most crucial for
their sound development, which, in
turn, will usher in an era of all round
growth of the nation and universal wel-
fare of its entire population.
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
Otherwise, the following words of
John F. Kennedy, former President of
the United States of America, will come
true who said, “If a free society can-
not help the many who are poor, it
cannot save the few who are rich”.
This quote is relevant all over the world
but more so in case of India, where
waging disparity among the rich and
the poor is increasing day by day and
sowing the seeds for all-around bitter-
ness, reflection of which can be seen
from the rising trend of naxal related
activities in the country besides ever
deteriorating law and order situation in
the country.
Because naxalism and extremism get
most of their feed from the vulnerable
sections of the society, which have
remained exploited and/or deprived
even from essential livelihood support.
Such oppressed youth are easy targets
of radical elements as these youth are
promised livelihood support for them-
selves and their families, besides this,
they also smell power through the bar-
rel of the gun for avenging the mal-
treatment suffered by them and their
families at the hands of the powerful
of the society. If the Government can
provide the basic essential livelihood
support and meaningful security to all
then no one will experience oppression
in the society. And everyone will have
equitable chance to grow in this world
to realize his dreams and, conse-
quently, enjoy recognition in the soci-
31
ety, and thereafter pursue for even
higher goal of self-actualization of his
inner-self, which will provide him ul-
timate satisfaction in life.
However, if we fail to address these
legitimate concerns of the people, the
flame of retaliation which naturally kin-
dles in those who feel oppressed by
the society, will assume menacing form
when it is stoked and inflamed further
by the indoctrination at the hands of
radical elements. And then in no time
this will transform an oppressed
and hapless youth into a dreaded
extremist or revolutionary. Ex-
tremists project that they are
fighting against oppressors and
it gives credibility to their doc-
trine. Therefore, if somehow the
feeling among the people that
they are oppressed by the soci-
ety, is weaned away then the ex-
tremism will fade away of its
own and will usher in an era of
all-around peace and tranquillity,
and this is possible only when essen-
tial livelihood support and security is
provided to one and all in the country.
Now, we explore the ways whereby
the most basic Comprehensive Social
Security (CSS) cover can be extended
to all the people of the country effec-
tively and optimally so that neither mis-
appropriation of funds takes place,
which has so far remained associated
with almost all the social welfare
schemes launched by the Government,
nor will administrative cost for pro-
viding this basic CSS to the people
shoots up painfully.
(This is the second of a series of
articles based on the book
“Curing the Ills of India”)
- The author is working as the
Assistant Registrar (Academic) at
Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra

An 18-year-old boy is Abducted and Murdered in Manipur
T
he Asian Human Rights Commis
sion (AHRC) has received infor
mation concerning the case of a
teenage boy who was abducted by
three unknown men and killed later. His
corpse was identified in a mortuary by
his neighbours when they went to iden-
tify the body of another person, killed
in identical circumstances. Reports
strongly suggest that the boy was ab-
ducted and killed by a combined team
of officers from the Manipur state
police and the Assam Rifles stationed
in Manipur.
Case Details:
On 18 March 2010 Amujao, a bus con-
ductor and cleaner, and Mr. Elangbam
Jibon, a driver were on duty on a bus
running between Wabgai and Imphal.
At about 2pm they parked the bus at
Andro bus station in Imphal
near Konung Mamang and
waited for their turn to go to
Wabgai.
According to our information
three unknown men, sus-
pected to be police officers,
entered the bus and started
talking to Amujao; they
warned Jibon to stay in the
bus after asking to see the
vehicle's documents. They
dragged Amujao from the bus
and took him away in a three-
wheeler. At around 4pm Jibon
told members of Amujao’s
family, who tried and failed to
contact him.
The next day Amujao's corpse
was found by his neighbours,
who were at the mortuary of
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
Appeal:
the Regional Institute of Medical Sci-
ences (RIMS) at Imphal to identify and
receive another body, that of Mr.
Chongtham Nanao.
The circumstances of Nanao's death
has been reported by the AHRC in
UAC-035-2010, and a combined team
of Thoubal Police Commandos and 21
Assam Rifles (AR) are facing allega-
tions of murder.
Late that day the Assam Rifles informed
Amujao's family that they had killed
Amujao in an armed encounter with
the 28-Assam Rifles at a place called
Kongba Irong (under the jurisdiction
32
of Irilbung Police Station, Imphal
East). The Assam Rifles also claim that
they recovered arms and ammunition
from the victim.
It should be known that Amujao is from
poor family and was its only earning
member. In the past he had undergone
six months imprisonment for a petty
offense, though there were no other
cases registered against him at the time
of his death. On 20 March people in
his community formed a Joint Action
Committee to protest against his ille-
gal arrest and murder. They have sub-
mitted a memorandum to the Chief
Minister of the state demanding an in-
vestigation in the case and the pros-
ecution of those involved.
Additional Information:
The AHRC has been report-
ing similar cases of extraju-
dicial executions from
Manipur for a number of
years, and has observed pat-
terns in the violations taking
place. Most victims are ab-
ducted by unidentified men
immediately before their re-
ported murder in an armed
'encounter'. Often the police
and/or the division of the
paramilitary force involved in
the case claim that they re-
covered arms and ammuni-
tion from the victim.
Of the cases reported from
Manipur, not one has been in-
vestigated so far by any in-
dependent agencies. Please
be aware that although the
National Human Rights Com-

mission issued guidelines for police
handling of cases of extrajudicial ex-
ecutions, found here, the state has not
followed them.
As evidenced in Amujao's and Nanao's
cases the security forces breach all
statutory requirements at the time of
arrest in Manipur. According to the
Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC),
1974, the arresting officer, whether he
is in uniform or not, has to inform the
arrested person who they are and why
they are arresting the person. The of-
ficers also have a statutory responsi-
bility to inform the immediate relative
of the detainee, or a person of the de-
tainee's choice the place where the ar-
rested person will be detained. At the
time of arrest, at the choice of the ar-
rested person, the officers must make
available an independent person to
search the body of the arresting offic-
ers and that of the detainee so that false
claims regarding recovery of contra-
band articles does not arise.
According to the information available
to the AHRC, this procedure has not
been followed in a single case in which
the detainee has been later reported to
be killed in an armed encounter. This
V ol. V II No. 4 April 2010
ported by the AHRC to the
NHRC;
4. If the statement provided by Mr.
Elangbam Jibon reveals that the
state agents have arrested
Amujao without following the
directives of the Supreme Court
in the D. K. Basu case, the of-
ficers are immediately pros-
ecuted for contempt of court
and
5. Amujao's family is provided an
interim compensation pending
investigation in the case.
- HT Bureau
not only negates the law, but is in con-
tempt of the Indian Supreme Court's
orders as delivered in the D. K. Basu
case, and later incorporated into the Visit our website at :
Cr.PC. So far, in spite of repeated ef- www.humanrightsnews.net and
forts by civil society organisations in www.manavadhikar.net
India, the Supreme Court has failed to for online
take any action on cases reported to human rights updates.
the Court that shows the clear viola-
tion of its own directives.
Manavadhikar Samajik Manch is of the
opinion that the murder of 18-year-old
Amujao must be investigated as di-
rected by the NHRC. We request the
Government of India and the NRHC
to direct the Government of Manipur
to ensure that:
1. The statement of witnesses in
the case, in particular that of bus Visit our website at :
driver Mr. Elangbam Jibon is
recorded by a judicial magis- www.humanrightsnews.net
trate;
and
2. The witnesses in the case are
provided protection;
www.manavadhikar.net
3. Reports are filed as directed by for online
the National Human Rights
Commission concerning cases
human rights updates.
of extrajudicial executions re-
33
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