The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Central government to file its response to a plea seeking direction for setting up human rights courts in every district of the country.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi issued noticeto Centre and all 29 states on the plea filed by law student, Bhavika Phore.Phore, through advocate Aakarsh Kamra, has sought direction to the Centre forproviding sufficient and adequate funds for setting up of human rights court inall 725 districts in 29 states and seven Union Territories in a time-boundmanner.
The petitioner said that the establishment of these specialhuman rights courts will strengthen and enhance existing mechanism, and boostpreservation and protection of human rights in letter and spirit at grass rootslevel which is the very foundation of democratic principles to achieve thevision of the constitutional framers as stated in the Preamble to theConstitution.
The petitioner also requested the court to appoint specialpublic prosecutors for conducting speedy trial of offences arising out of humanrights violation.
Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, the government isunder obligation to set up special human right courts in each district for thebetter protection of human rights and also to appoint a Special PublicProsecutor for the same but has failed to do so, the petitioner said, citingvarious reports and studies, which disclosed that human rights protection is ina very bad state.
The petitioner also raised various human rights violationsincluding police brutality, and torture, custodial and “encounter”deaths, the horrible conditions in prison and detention centres, arbitraryarrests and unlawful detention, and denial of fair public trial.
“From 2001 to 2010, the National Human RightsCommission (NHRC) recorded that 14,231 persons died in police and judicialcustody in India. This includes 1,504 deaths in police custody and 12,727deaths in judicial custody from 2001-2002 to 2009-2010, a large majority ofthese deaths being a direct consequence of torture in custody,” thepetitioner said.
“Torture remains endemic, institutionalised and centralto the administration of justice. India has demonstrated no political will toend torture as it remains widespread and integral to law enforcement,” thepetition said. The plea also said that the intervention of thecourt in setting up human rights courts will provide the victims of humanrights abuse a quick and efficacious access to justice which is constitutionalobligation of the state to respect, protect and uphold the basic human rightsof its citizens.