No separate HR commission for JK, Ladakh
Srinagar: J&K’s Law Commission has informed the administration of the Union Territory that its recommendation for creation of separate human rights body for Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has become redundant after Centre empowered National Human Rights Commission to deal with all human rights issues of these UTs.
Citing Jammu and Kashmir Re-Organisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Order-2020,Law Commission’s chairman Justice MK Hanjura has written to Law Secretary Achal Sethi that its recommendation for creation of separate human rights panel for both UTs “has not only become redundant, obsolete and outmoded but it is also dead and gone for the simple reason that the functions as these relate to the enforcement of the human rights in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh have been directed to be dealt with by the Commission,” reads the communiqué, addressed to the JK admin.
The Law Commission communicated its views after J&K government sought its comments on amendments in the Protection of Human Rights Act-1993 by virtue of Jammu and Kashmir Re-Organisation(adaptation of central laws)Order -2020 notified on March 18, 2020. On October 23, 2019, the Law Commission recommended creation of separate human rights body for both UTs.
The Commission, however, also noted that its observation that it may not be feasible and possible to confer the functions relating to human rights upon state commission located outside the union territories holds the ground at the moment also.
“However, in an apparent digression it needs must to be said that in the report number 9 after taking into consideration the vagaries of weather, the difficult terrain, the topography ,the geographical condition with which the Union Territories are confronted and above all the load of the components that the Commission had to carry on its head, the Commission recommended that it may not be feasible and possible to confer the functions relating to human rights upon state commission located outside the Union territories which holds the ground at the moment also.
This aspect can be pondered over and looked into profoundly at this stage also for the reason that with the onset and the visitation of the additions made in sub-section (7) and (8)of the section 21 of the Act as described above (as reiterated and repeated here) is that the effect of the report number 9 has effaced and it has become redundant and inessential,” Hanjura states. (KNO)
