HRLN has filed a PIL to ban the unregulated sale of acid in the market

The Petitioner has filed a Petition against the Union of India & others in the backdrop of the acid attack when the four sisters who are teachers at Kandhla in Shamli District of Western Uttar Pradesh. They were attacked with acid two unidentified men on a motorcycle while they were returning to their home from Market.

The Petitioner has Expressed concern over rising incidents of acid attacks against women and "raised an important issue" as to what steps the state government or the Centre can take to prevent easy availability of acid-like materials which are "now being used frequently as weapons for assault, particularly against women".

The acid violence seems to be almost unique to South Asia, with most incidents occurring in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Part of the reason is that acid is cheap and widely available. Many Indians use concentrated acid to sterilize their kitchens and bathrooms, as Americans would use bleach.

Therefore, the Petitioner prayed that this Hon’ble Court may graciously be pleased to:-

·         Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus commanding/directing the Respondents to ban the unregulated sale of acid in the market.

·         Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus commanding/directing the Respondent No. 2 to furnish the list of the acid attack victims in Uttar Pradesh in the last five years before the Hon'ble Court.

·         To award cost of the Petition to the Petitioner.

HRLN has filed a Writ petition to compensate and rehabilitate the Dalit Rape Survivor and the displaced families of the village Bhagana

The Petitioner has filed a Petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India against the state of Haryana & Others in the Honr'ble Supreme Court. The Petitioners seeking intervention of the Hon’ble Court through a writ of mandamus or any other writ and/ or direction to all the Respondents to pay the four rape survivors a sum of Rs. 1 crore each by way of compensation for abduction and gang rape . And for an order directing the CBI to take over the investigation and prosecution of the criminal case being FIR no. 299 of 2014 and for direction to the state of Haryana to forthwith provide 50 acres of land at a site suitable for the victim community and agreeable to them together with all facilities such as roads, drinking water, houses, electricity, public facilities and the like.

The petitioner no.1 is the father of the 13 year old victim who is among the four unfortunate girls who have been gang raped. The petitioner no.2 is the father of the 17 year old victim, petitioner no. 3 is the father of the 16 year old victim, petitioner no. 4 is the father of the victim who is 17 years old and petitioner no. 5 is the one among the youth of the villagers who is standing for the rights of the Dalits. All the five petitioners are currently protesting at Jantar Mantar.

Therefore, the Petitioner has prayed before the Honorable Court for the following reliefs:

·         For a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, an order or direction to the Respondent no.1 to pay the four rape survivors mentioned in this petition a sum of Rs. 1 crore each by way of compensation for abduction and gang rape.

·         For an order directing the Respondent no.3 to take over the investigation and prosecution of the criminal case being FIR no. 299 of 2014 at PS Hissar sadar, relating to the abduction and gang rape of the four rape survivors.

·         For an order directing the Respondent no.1 to provide for high quality education to all the children and young adults of the dalit community who have been forced to discontinue their education on account of the events described in this petition, completely free of costs.

·         For an order directing the Respondent no.1 to direct the investigating officer to forthwith register an FIR in respect of the threats issued by the Sarpanch Shri Rakesh of village Bhagana and his uncle Shri Virendra and also in respect of the conspiracy entered into between these two persons and the five accused in committing the crime of abduction and gang rape.  

·         For an order or direction to the Respondent no.1 to forthwith provide 50 acres of land at a site suitable for the victim community and agreeable to them together with all facilities such as roads, drinking water, houses, electricity, public facilities and the like.

·         For an order directing the Respondent no.1 to forthwith pay each of the displaced families hereto a sum of Rs. 1 crore each by way of compensation for having been displaced from their village and rendered destitute.

·         For an order directing the Respondent no.1 and Respondent no.5 for the rehabilitation of the rape survivors and their families, be done in Delhi or in any state near the state of Haryana as opted for by the rape survivors.

·         For an order directing the respondent no.1 and respondent no.5 that the victim families be relocated and re-habilitated at Delhi entirely at the cost of the state of Haryana as the Petitioner state that once the prosecution of the accused persons begins their situation will become vicarious and unsafe as the families of the accuse persons are likely to become even more aggressive.

HRLN has filed a PIL to Compensate the Acid attack Survivor under Maharashtra's Manodhairya Yojana in the Bombay High Court

The Petitioner has filed a Petition against the State of Maharashtra on behalf of the Petitioner who is a 24 year old woman and she was attacked with acid in January 2012. She continues to bear scars even after repeated surgeries and has not received any financial assistance from the Government for her medical treatment. She requires further corrective surgeries which are expensive and unaffordable for her

The Petitioner through this Petition seeks directions from this Hon’ble Court directing the Respondents to give her compensation as mandated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, in Laxmi v. Union of India, and to make provisions for her free medical treatment. The Petitioner further seeks to challenge the Government Resolution of the Manodhairya Yojana to the extent of the inadequate compensation to be granted to acid attack victims, and the conditions for claiming financial assistance.

The Petitioner has prayed before this Hon’ble Court as Under:

• That this Hon’ble Court be pleased to direct the Respondent Authorities herein liable to pay the Petitioner compensation of at least Rs 10 lakh.
• That this Hon’ble Court be pleased to direct the Respondent authorities to pay the Petitioner the expenses of her medical expenses which she has incurred so far.
• That this Hon’ble Court be pleased to direct the Respondent authorities to pay the Petitioner her future expenses of her medical treatment and corrective surgeries.
• For an order and direction to the Respondent to adequately compensate the Petitioner/ Victim herein as quantified by this Hon’ble Court, for the loss and detriment suffered by her in view of the delay in payment of their due entitlements.

SC asks states, UTs to reply on plea alleging violation of RTE

The Petitioner has filed a Petition as public interest litigation under Article 32 directly in the Hon’ble Supreme Court as numerous reports have been released showing systematic and widespread violations of children’s fundamental Right to Education across the country, including violations of numerous specific requirements of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The Petition states that the lack of resources and failure to implement provisions of the RTE Act has resulted in a significant decline in education performance.

The petition seeks directions to the states and UTs to recruit and train one lakh additional professionally trained teachers to end the shortage of educators within a year.

The petition also asks for a further direction to the states and UTs to disclose the number of students admitted under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota in the state in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Based on the data collected from various reports, it is clear that the Right to Education is being violated across the country. These violations have persisted for years and remain today in face of the RTE Act's requirement that they be remedied within three years of it coming into force.

Therefore, the Petitioner has prayed before the Honorable Supreme Court for a Writ of Mandamus or other appropriate writ, order or direction to Respondents, directing that:

• The 37.7M children out of school make the transition to RTE compliant schools, by construction of approximately 1,50,000 new schools or the expansion of existing schools, within 6 months of today; that all states complete the required neighbourhood mapping within 6 months of today; and that new schools are constructed within 6 months of the completion of these mappings such that all neighbourhoods have a primary school within 1 KM and an upper primary within 3 KM (as per RTE Model Rules Part IV Section 6); and that all single-classroom schools be upgraded to be in compliance with the RTE Act Schedule 2(i).
• The States and Territories recruit and train 100,000 additional professionally trained teachers employed each month to enable the country to close the 1.2 M teacher shortage within 1 year from today; that additional full-time professionally trained teachers necessary to bring the Pupil-Teacher Ratios and the number of Head Teachers and Subject-Specific Teachers in compliance with the RTE Act Schedule 1; and to enable this, that the States and Territories upgrade existing and construct new public sector teacher training centres so as to ensure the availability of these required trained teachers.
• The Panachayats and ULBs complete an identification and mapping of all school-age children in their areas , taking special care to include migrant, nomadic, displaced, Dalit, denotified tribe, and other marginalized communities and to ensure that all of them are in RTE compliant schools within 6 months of today;
• The States and Union Territories upgrade all deficient schools  with the appropriate physical infrastructure so as to be in compliance with the RTE Act Schedule 2 within 6 months of today;
• The States and Union Territories regularize and make permanent all contract- and para-teachers in the country;
• The States and Union Territories ensure that teachers are not assigned to prohibited non-education duties, including mid-day meal preparation;
• The States and Union Territories ensure that all schools have a properly constituted SMC with compositions in compliance with RTE Act Section 21(1).
• The Central Government ensures that all schools run under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) be brought in to compliance with the RTE Act, particularly with respect to physical infrastructure, teaching hours and professionally trained teachers.
• The States and Union Territories to ensure that all private schools are registered with the government; to disclose the total number of students admitted under the EWS quota in the entire state in accordance with section 12 of the Act; and to ensure that, within 1 year of today, all the private schools in the state are in compliance with the Act.

HRLN has filed a writ petition to provide free medical, surgical treatment and rehabilitation package to the acid attack Survivor

The HRLN has filed a writ petition against the State of Haryana in the High Court of Chandigarh on behalf of the petitioner, a young woman of 30 years who suffered Acid Attack on 19.11.2009 at the age of 26 years since she refused to oblige sexually to her employer at Panipat, Haryana where she was working as a counsellor and was also pursuing her MBA in the same college. An FIR dated 20.11.2009 was registered at PS Panipat and she had to be an indoor patient at Indraprasth APOLLO Hospital’s, New Delhi from 20.11.2009 to 29.11.200.  She had to undergo 5-6 other surgeries at different times. She had already spent approximately Rs. 7.5 lac on her treatment and still approximately she needs more Rs. 13 lac which she does not have.

The petitioner who had lost her eye-sight and whose face also disfigured due to subjective and objective reasons had to exclude her from social interactions. She approached to Department of Women and Child Development for medical and other help which was declined by the said department on the plea that the scheme of the state is available only to the Acid Victims who had suffered acid attack after 02.05.2011.

The Petitioner has prayed before this Hon’ble Court, inter alia, as under:

To modify the policy dated 02.05.2011 subsequently amended vide dated 16.1.2014 qua the eligibility criteria being violative of Article 21 and 14 of the constitution of India and to set aside the order dated 29.8.2013, to provide free medical and surgical treatment to the acid attack victim, rehabilitation and compensation as per the policy issued by the state of Haryana and guidelines issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Laxmi vs UOI dated 18.7.2013, to reimburse the expenses which she had already incurred and during the pendency of the petition for directions either to release at least Rs. 5 lac to the petitioner directly or to give direction/instruction to the approved hospital i.e. IP Apollo at New Delhi to provide free treatment to the petitioner so that the petitioner’s treatment is not further delayed since the matter pertains to the right to life of the petitioner.

SC commutes death sentences of 15 Convicts, due to delay in mercy plea decisions

The Petitioner has filed a writ petitions, under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, which has been filed either by the convicts, who were awarded death sentence or by their family members or by public-spirited bodies like People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) based on the rejection of mercy petitions by the Governor and the President of India.

In all the writ petitions, the main prayer consistently relates to the issuance of a writ of declaration declaring that execution of sentence of death pursuant to the rejection of the mercy petitions by the President of India is unconstitutional and to set aside the death sentence imposed upon them by commuting the same to imprisonment for life. Further, it is also prayed for declaring the order passed by the Governor/President of India rejecting their respective mercy petitions as illegal and unenforceable.

The Honorable Supreme Court held that death sentence of a condemned prisoner can be commuted to life imprisonment on the ground of delay on the part of the government in deciding the mercy plea. In a landmark verdict that can come as a relief to many death row convicts.

Giving life term to 15 death row inmates, including four aides of forest brigand Veerappan, the apex court also ruled that a death convict suffering from mental insanity and schizophrenia cannot be hanged.

It overruled its own verdict in Khalistani terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar’s case in which it had held that delay in deciding mercy plea cannot be a ground for commutation of death sentence.

The Court said Death sentence in such cases can be commuted to life imprisonment on the ground of their mental illness. The judgment may have implications in various cases, including the petitions filed by three death row convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case who have challenged the President’s rejection of their mercy plea less than three years ago. Framing guidelines on disposal of mercy petitions and execution of death sentence, a bench headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam ruled that convicts given death sentence must be informed about the rejection of their mercy pleas and should be given a chance to meet their family members before they are executed.

It also held that solitary confinement of a prisoner, including death row convict, is unconstitutional and it should not be allowed in the prisons. The bench gave its verdict on a batch of petitions filed by 15 death row inmates seeking its direction for commutation of their sentence to life term on the grounds of delay in deciding mercy plea and mental illness. It also said that execution of death sentence should be carried out only 14 days after rejection of the mercy plea. The apex court also said that the prison authorities must provide legal aid to prisoners facing death sentence so that they can approach courts for commutation of their sentence on the ground of their illness and delay in deciding mercy plea by the government.

Pronouncing its judgment on 13 petitions filed by the 15 convicts whose execution of sentence had been stayed by the apex court, the three-judge bench clarified that its directions be implemented in all cases whether a person has been convicted under IPC or the anti-terror law. The issue of communication of rejection of mercy plea assumes importance in view of the controversy surrounding the execution of Parliament attack case convict Mohd Afzal as there was allegation that his family members were not properly communicated about the dismissal of his plea and subsequent hanging.

Earlier, a two-judge bench in April 2013 had held that long delay in disposing of mercy pleas by the President or the governor of persons convicted under anti-terror laws or similar statutes cannot be a ground for commutation of death sentence. The April 12, 2013 ruling was pronounced while rejecting Bhullar’s plea for commutation of sentence on ground of delay in deciding his mercy plea. At that time, there were over 20 convicts facing execution.

Later on, an apex court bench had granted relief to a condemned prisoner M.N. Das who had sought conversion of his death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of delay in deciding his mercy petition. Justice Sathasivam, before taking over as CJI, had said that there was a need for “authoritative pronouncements” by a larger bench or a Constitution Bench on issues like mercy pleas to avoid conflicting views by smaller benches.

The 15 death row inmates on whose pleas the apex court delivered its verdict are sandalwood smuggler Veerappan’s aides and others. The other death row convicts included Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet Singh, Praveen Kumar, Sonia and her husband Sanjeev, Sundar Singh and Jafar Ali convicted in various cases. While Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet Singh and Jafar Ali are lodged in prisons in Uttar Pradesh, former Haryana MLA Ralu Ram Punia’s daughter Sonia and her husband Sanjeev are jailed in Haryana. Praveen is in a Karnataka jail and Sundar Singh is an inmate of a prison in Uttaranchal.Sonia and Sanjeev were awarded death penalty for killing eight members of her family, including her parents and three children of her brother in 2001.Gurmeet Singh was convicted for killing 13 of his family members in 1986. Jafar Ali murdered his wife and five daughters. Suresh and Ramji killed five of their relatives.

SC reaffirms workers Right to Health and Medical care

On a petition filed by HRLN on behalf of Occupational Health and Safety Association, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment that the right to health and medical care, while in service or post-retirement, is a fundamental right of a worker.  Right to health i.e. right to live in a clean, hygienic and safe environment is a right flowing from Article 21. 

Occupational Health and Safety Organization has filed a writ petition in Supreme Court seeking from court to issue direction directing to Government to make guidelines for safety of workers from occupational disease. The Petitioner represented about 130 Coal Fired Thermal Power Plants(CFTPPs) in India spread over different States in the country, but no proper occupational health services facility are in place.

Colin Gonsalves, senior counsel referring  to the above National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) report submitted that not much importance was given to the serious health problems being faced by the workers who are working in the thermal power plants and treatment they require as well as the payment of wages and compensation to those workers who were suffering from serious illness. He pointed out that some urgent steps should be taken to ensure the health and safety of the workers.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court Said that Right to health i.e. right to live in a clean, hygienic and safe environment is a right flowing from Article 21. Clean surroundings lead to healthy body and healthy mind. But, unfortunately, for eking a livelihood and for national interest, many employees work in dangerous, risky and unhygienic environment.

Right to live with human dignity enshrined in Article 21 derives its life breath from the Directive Principles of State Policy, particularly clauses (e) and (f) of Articles 39, 41 and 42. Those Articles include protection of health and strength of workers and just and humane conditions of work. Those are minimum requirements which must exist to enable a person to live with human dignity. Every State has an obligation and duty to provide at least the minimum condition ensuring human dignity. But when workers are engaged in such hazardous and risky jobs, then the responsibility and duty on the State is double-fold.

Occupational health and safety issues of CFTPPs are associated with thermal discharge, air and coal emission, fire hazards, explosion hazards etc. Dust emanates also contain free silica associated with silicosis, arsenic leading to skin and lung cancer, coal dust leading to black lung and the potential harmful substances. Necessity for constant supervision and to the drive to mitigate the harmful effects on the workers is of extreme importance.

Apex court upholds Majithia Wage Board recommendations

A Bench led by CJI P Sathasivam said the revised pay should be given to the employees with effect from November 11, 2011 when the Centre notified the recommendations of the Board.

The Supreme Court Friday ratified the constitution and recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board for journalists and non-journalists on their pay structure.

A Bench led by CJI P Sathasivam said the revised pay should be given to the employees with effect from November 11, 2011 when the Centre notified the recommendations of the Board. It said new pay structure would be given from April 2014 and the employer will have to pay arrears since 2011 within a year, in four equal installments.

“We hold that the recommendations are valid…we are fully satisfied that the procedure adopted by the Board is legitimate and no decision was taken unilaterally and arbitrarily,” said the Bench.

While upholding the validity of the Board, the court dismissed a bunch of petitions filed by various newspaper managements, challenging the validity of the Board’s constitution and recommendations.

The 6th (Majithia) Wage Board was constituted by the   Labour Ministry in 2007. It announced an ad hoc interim relief of 30 per cent of basic pay with effect from January 2008. This was implemented by the industry. The Board submitted its final recommendations on December 31, 2010, which were notified by the Centre with certain modifications, a year later.

Under the Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955, the Union government through the ministry of labour in November 2011 notified recommendations increasing the salaries paid to all staff.

The latest Majithia wage board recommended that salaries be increased, in some cases to 200% of prevailing levels, causing an uproar from publishers and prompting many newspaper firms to challenge the implementation of the wage board in the Supreme Court.

The Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) welcomed the judgement. “It is a step in the right direction. We hope that the INS and all other news publications are helpful in implementing this judgement. We call for vigilance by all state unions for the same,” said S.K Pandey, general secretary of DUJ.

Supreme Court says prospective parents, irrespective of religious background, have the right to adopt children

HRLN welcomes the Supreme Court judgement on the Right to Adopt. In a notable judgement on the petition of the clients of Human Rights Law Network, 'Shabnam Hashmi vs the Union Of India', the Supreme Court has decreed that prospective parents irrespective of their religious background are free to adopt children after the prescribed procedure. The court in it's order said that 'personal beliefs and faiths, though must be honoured, cannot dictate the operation of the provisions of an enabling statute."

When Racism is normal fun

Reingamphi Awungshi was found dead in her rented flat in a south Delhi neighbourhood on 29 May 2013. She was 21 from Manipur. It has been less than a year since her death, and it would have been forgotten, the case closed, if it wasn’t forGolmei, an activist and founder-member of Burma Centre Delhi and Human Rights Law Network. The police were refusing to file a first information report (FIR). The same night even before the post-mortem was completed, the police announced that it was a suicide and the injuries to her face, legs, and feet were caused by rats after her death. The next day after the post-mortem the police told Reingamphi’s relatives and friends to take her body from the mortuary, and that the case was closed.

The protesters didn’t budge until the case was transferred to the crime branch, and on 3 June, an FIR was finally registered for murder. The Human Rights Law Network is fighting the case for free. The latest test reports conclude that no drugs or poison were found in her body, and that there was semen on her clothes, though the cause of death is still not clear.

The court has ordered a DNA test to see if the semen matches that of Reingamphi’s landlord and his brother-in-law, both of whom had access to her house from a back door which was found open when her body was discovered,” says Amiy Shukla, the lawyer who is handling the case.

SC commutes death penalty of Rajiv Gandhi killers to life imprisonment

The Supreme Court on Tuesday commuted the death penalty of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassins to life imprisonment. The death sentence has been commuted on grounds of delay in deciding their mercy plea.

The judgement was delivered by a bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, which had reserved its verdict on the plea of three convicts - Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan - on February 4. The court has pronounced that the three will stay in the jail till the end of their life.

The bench cited 11-years delay on the part of the Centre in deciding their mercy plea. The court has rejected the Centre's contention that delay in deciding the mercy plea of convicts Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan did not result in agony.
"We implore government to render advice in reasonable time to the President for taking a decision on mercy pleas," the bench said. "We are confident that the mercy plea can be decided much faster than what is being done now," the bench observed.

DMK chief M Karunanidhi asks for death penalty to be abolished

DMK chief M Karunanidhi has appealed for the death penalty to be abolished. Earlier this month, Afzal Guru from Kashmir was hanged for his role in 2001's deadly attack on Parliament. In November, Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab was executed for the 26/11 strikes in Mumbai in which 166 people were killed.

The hangings have provoked criticism from human rights groups.

Mr Karunanidhi's party is a senior member of the Prime Minister's ruling coalition.

His request comes as four men from Karnataka have appealed against the death sentence. The Supreme Court will hear their case on Wednesday. The men, all members of the gang led by notorious sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, were convicted for the deaths of 22 policemen in 1993.

In a letter to party workers, Mr Karunanidhi said the Centre and legal experts should look at "removing hanging from law books in the interest of human rights and humanity."

"Had this opinion (of abolition of death penalty), which is being stressed for a long time given due consideration, death penalties which are continuously being implemented now could have been prevented," he said.

The mercy petition of Veerappan's associates was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee last week, nine years after they asked for their sentence to be commuted. Their lawyers argue that the "inordinate delay" merits a removal of the death penalty.

The same argument was made by another three death row prisoners from Tamil Nadu, who have been convicted for their role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Their case is also being heard by the Supreme Court. Last year, the Tamil Nadu assembly unanimously passed a resolution, urging the President to review their death sentence.

Delhi government files affidavit against Bhullar's death penalty in SC

New Delhi: The Delhi government on Friday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing terror attack convict Devender Pal Singh Bhullar's death penalty. "The government is opposed to giving death penalty to Bhullar as he is suffering from mental illness," the affidavit read.
The Delhi government added that the judgement given by the apex court on January 21, 2014 commuting death penalty of 15 convicts applies to Bhullar as well.

Bhullar was sentenced to death by a trial court on August 25, 2001 for plotting terror attacks on Punjab Senior Superintendent of Police Sumedh Singh Saini in 1991 and Youth Congress leader MS Bitta in 1993, in which nine people were killed.

The Supreme Court had commuted death penalty of 15 convicts on the grounds of inordinate and inexplicable delay and mental illness in deciding the mercy plea of the convicts.

While the death penalty of 13 convicts had been commuted to life on the ground of inordinate delay on part of the President to decide their mercy pleas, two others were given life sentence after they became mentally ill after several years on death row. Over 20 death row convicts had approached the Supreme Court seeking an authoritative ruling on the matter.

The apex court had said schizophrenia, insanity and mental illness can be reasons for commuting death penalty and the convicts should be given adequate medical treatment and legal aid. The order also said that solitary confinement of a death row convict and other prisoners is unconstitutional.
The court had also ruled that a death row convict must be hanged within 14 days after dismissal of his/ her mercy petition.
Ruling that death row convicts and their families must be informed after their mercy plea is rejected by the President or the Governor, the apex court said, "Once the mercy plea has been rejected, it should be communicated in writing."

UP opposes CBI probe into Muzaffarnagar riots

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday opposed a plea for a CBI probe into the Muzaffarnagar riots, and told the Supreme Court that it did everything to contain the violence that broke out in September 2013.

On an intervention by counsel Colin Gonsalves, appearing for one of the petitioners, the court asked Lalit to explain why there were differences in the grant of compensation. 

Gonsalves told the court that while the family of a news channel correspondent who was killed during the riots was given Rs 15 lakh compensation, other victims were given Rs 10 lakh only. 

Muzaffarnagar riots: 300 booked for stalling police case in gang rape

New Delhi: Over 300 people have been booked to interfere with the proceedings of police against the absconding accused in the gangrape in Phugana village during the riots.

More than 300 people have been arrested for pelting stones and stopping the police while they were on duty nabbing the accused in the gang rape.

Two cases under IPC have been registered against them.

Five women including Sunita, Minu, Shimla, Babli and another Sunita have been named in this connection, said police.

Police faced resistance from the irate locals on January 30 and 31 when they had gone to the village for putting up notices of attachment proceedings at the homes of the accused, they said.

Communal incidents up 30% in 2013, UP tops list

As the government’s attempts to table the communal violence Bill were stalled by the opposition on Wednesday, fresh data released by the Ministry of Home Affairs shows a steep 30 per cent rise in the number of communal violence incidents as compared to 2012, with the maximum number of cases being reported from Uttar Pradesh.

In reply to a question in Parliament, the home ministry on Wednesday said the total number of cases reported in 2013 was 823, up from 668 incidents in 2012. According to the ministry, 133 people died and 2,269 injured in such violence in 2013 against 94 and 2,117 respectively in 2012.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/communal-incidents-up-30-in-2013-up-tops-list/

Muzaffarnagar: Court rejects bail plea of father in daughter's rape case

Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh: A local court has rejected the bail plea of a man, accused of raping his 15-year-old daughter and nine-year-old niece in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, saying that a father is the natural guardian of a child and cannot be excused for such a crime.

Additional District Sessions Judge Lokender Rathi rejected the bail plea of Omvir yesterday.

While rejecting his bail plea, the court observed that the father is the natural guardian of the child and he cannot be excused for such a crime.

According to the prosecution, Omvir was arrested for raping his 15-year-old daughter and nine-year old niece in Muzaffarnagar on August 6, 2013.

India NGO Awards 2013 in Large Category

The Resource Alliance announced the winners of the India NGO Awards 2012/13 at a glittering ceremony held in New Delhi. The winners were chosen based by an independent jury who selected the NGOs on their demonstration of best practices of impact, scalability and replicability, innovation and sustainability in their programmes, and in creative and successful resource mobilisation.

http://www.hrln.org/hrln/about-us/awards/1444.html

Gas pricing: SC to examine policy, issues notices to Centre, RIL

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre and Reliance Industries (RIL) on a public interest litigation (PIL) against the increase in natural gas price, filed by Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta and former Union power secretary E A S Sarma.

A bench headed by chief justice P Sathasivam asked the Centre and RIL to respond within four weeks. The next hearing is scheduled on September 6. The central government, petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily, the petroleum ministry, RIL, Niko Resources and BP are among the respondents in the PIL.

Human Rights Law Network has already filed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the government’s recent decision to raise the price of natural gas produced in the country.

Human Rights Law Network has already filed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the government’s recent decision to raise the price of natural gas produced in the country.

While admitting the PIL filed by member of Parliament Gurudas Dasgupta and former power secretary E.A.S. Sarma, the court issued notices to the Union government, oil minister M. Veerappa Moily, India’s petroleum and natural gas ministry, RIL and Canada’s Niko Resources Ltd and BP Exploration (Alpha) Ltd.

The petition questions the acceptance of higher prices without strict scrutiny of its impact on the economy in general and the petroleum and fertilizer sectors in particular.

Communist Party of India leader Dasgupta has alleged that Moily helped RIL to increase the price of gas produced from the KG-D6 offshore gas field. Moily, on his part, alleged that import lobbies were trying to exert influence on India—even intimidating ministers—not to raise the domestic prices of gas and not to reduce overseas purchases.

SC reaffirms workers Right to Health and Medical care

On a petition filed by HRLN on behalf of Occupational Health and Safety Association, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment that the right to health and medical care, while in service or post-retirement, is a fundamental right of a worker. Right to health i.e. right to live in a clean, hygienic and safe environment is a right flowing from Article 21. 

HRLN Welcomes Supreme Court Judgment on Wage Board Recommendations.

The Supreme Court on Friday, upheld recommendations made by the Justice Majithia wage board hiking salaries for journalists and non-journalists in print media. The Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) has been fighting the long and arduous legal battle on behalf of the journalists in the print media. The latest Majithia wage board recommended that salaries be increased, in some cases to 200% of prevailing levels, causing an uproar from publishers and prompting many newspaper firms to challenge the implementation of the wage board in the Supreme Court.

HRLN welcomes the Supreme Court decision to grant permanent bail to Soni Sori and Linga Kododopi.

HRLN welcomes the Supreme Court decision to grant permanent bail to Soni Sori and Linga Kododopi. 

HRLN along-with other Human Rights activists has been fighting long and hard to get justice for adivasi school teacher Soni and Linga Kododopi. They can now visit Chhattisgarh.

"Giving electric shocks, stripping me naked, shoving stones inside me - is this going to solve the Naxal problem," she had once asked in a letter to the Supreme Court. Human rights activists insisted that Sori was jailed for questioning violations of law by the police and security forces in the state.

Honr'ble District Court of Delhi has ordered S.D.O.E & M to give death compensation to the wife of a deceased.

The Petitioner Babita Kumari is a widow of late Richpal singh, a workman who was employed by S.D.O.E & M, Ordinance Depot, Shakur Basti, Delhi. While working at ordinance depot Shakur Basti, he was assigned work with an electrician on 25th October 2002 and asked by the electrician to go up on the pole to attend something which was beyond the scope of duty of Richpal Singh. As a result he got electrocuted while working and fell down the pole and died on spot. Richpal Singh was deaf and dumb person and his average monthly wages amounted to Rs. 4500.

Notice of death of the deceased was not served on time due to the fact that applicant is physically disabled person and is certified to be 50% and permanently disabled. Petitioner is a poor lady with two dependent and was dependent on the deceased for her survival. After the death of the deceased she wanted to file a claim for compensation with S.D.O.E & M, ordinance depot and also wanted to pursue the criminal complaint against the employee. But she was told that if she claimed compensation and pursued criminal prosecution then the Petitioner would not be given compassionate appointment in place of her husband and therefore she did not pursue the same. But even after 4 years and 3 months of the husband death the Petitioner was not given compassionate appointment in place of her husband. The applicant was entitled to receive a lump sum payment of Rs. 3,70,840.00 multiplied by 18417 (relevant factor under Schedule IV of the Workmen’s Compensation Act) + 2500 (towards expenditure on funeral of the Workman under Section 4(4) of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923).

Now, the Honorable District Court of Delhi has given its judgment, to compensate the Petitioner and directed as follows:

In the given age and wage, the petitioner is entitles to death compensation of Rs. 3, 68,340/-.The applicant is also entitled to as per Section 4 A interest @12% per annum from the date 30 days after the accident, i.e. 25.11.2002 till realization. She is also entitled for funeral charges of Rs. 2500/-. In order accordingly for the payment of interest.

Respondent is directed to deposit the amount of death compensation along with interest and funeral charges with this court within 30 days from the date of this order failing which the same shall be recovered by way of land revenue.

The Governor of Assam and Chief Justice of Guwahati High Court assure positive steps for providing relief and rehabilitation as well as restoring the rule of law in conflict affected district, Karbi Anlong

The Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), an all-India organisation of lawyers and social activists, has sought Assam governor J.B. Patnaik’s intervention to facilitate the safe return of people displaced by recent Karbi-Rengma clashes to their homes.

After visiting the areas affected by clashes in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, a six-member fact-finding team of the HRLN met Patnaik here last evening and submitted its recommendations which include creating a conducive atmosphere for the relief camp inmates to return home.
According to them, thousands of people are still waiting in the camps fearing a fresh bout of violence. The members of the HRLN team said during their visit the relief camp, the inmates had expressed unwillingness to return home because of a lack of security.

A senior lawyer of Sikkim High Court, Doma Bhutia, who was a member of the fact-finding team, told The Telegraph that Patnaik had assured them that all necessary security measures would be taken. “The governor also told us that he would visit the affected areas shortly to get a first-hand feel of the situation,” she said.
“The Assam government has set a January 20 deadline to send all relief camp inmates home, but a majority of them are reluctant as they are apprehensive about their security,” Bhutia said.

“They have told us that police and civil administration have failed to avert trouble despite giving them prior intimation that such a situation may arise. As a result, these people have lost faith in the government.”
The fact-finding team, comprising Bhutia, Sanjai Sharma, Satya Sagar, N. Sukumaran, Rosemary Dzuvichu and Samhita Baruah, visited Diphu, Santipur and Chowkohola areas in Karbi Anglong from January 14 to 18.
During their visits, the team members met officials and police officers, relief camp inmates and members of civil society groups, among others.

In its recommendation, the HRLN has suggested separation of executive and judiciary in Karbi Anglong. At present, the deputy commissioner is also district and sessions judge which, according to them, has put extra burden on him hampering smooth discharge of his official duties.

The members also submitted their recommendations to chairperson of Assam State Legal Service Authority and judge of Gauhati High Court Justice T. Vaiphei here yesterday.

According to official figures, 3,770 people displaced in the recent violence are sheltered in the relief camps, but according to the HRLN, the total number of people displaced is much higher as many of them are staying in the homes of friends and relatives.

SC commutes death sentences of 15 Convicts, due to delay in mercy plea decisions

The Petitioner has filed a writ petitions, under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, which has been filed either by the convicts, who were awarded death sentence or by their family members or by public-spirited bodies like People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) based on the rejection of mercy petitions by the Governor and the President of India.

In all the writ petitions, the main prayer consistently relates to the issuance of a writ of declaration declaring that execution of sentence of death pursuant to the rejection of the mercy petitions by the President of India is unconstitutional and to set aside the death sentence imposed upon them by commuting the same to imprisonment for life. Further, it is also prayed for declaring the order passed by the Governor/President of India rejecting their respective mercy petitions as illegal and unenforceable.

The Honorable Supreme Court held that death sentence of a condemned prisoner can be commuted to life imprisonment on the ground of delay on the part of the government in deciding the mercy plea. In a landmark verdict that can come as a relief to many death row convicts.

Giving life term to 15 death row inmates, including four aides of forest brigand Veerappan, the apex court also ruled that a death convict suffering from mental insanity and schizophrenia cannot be hanged.

It overruled its own verdict in Khalistani terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar’s case in which it had held that delay in deciding mercy plea cannot be a ground for commutation of death sentence.

The Court said Death sentence in such cases can be commuted to life imprisonment on the ground of their mental illness. The judgment may have implications in various cases, including the petitions filed by three death row convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case who have challenged the President’s rejection of their mercy plea less than three years ago. Framing guidelines on disposal of mercy petitions and execution of death sentence, a bench headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam ruled that convicts given death sentence must be informed about the rejection of their mercy pleas and should be given a chance to meet their family members before they are executed.

It also held that solitary confinement of a prisoner, including death row convict, is unconstitutional and it should not be allowed in the prisons. The bench gave its verdict on a batch of petitions filed by 15 death row inmates seeking its direction for commutation of their sentence to life term on the grounds of delay in deciding mercy plea and mental illness. It also said that execution of death sentence should be carried out only 14 days after rejection of the mercy plea. The apex court also said that the prison authorities must provide legal aid to prisoners facing death sentence so that they can approach courts for commutation of their sentence on the ground of their illness and delay in deciding mercy plea by the government.

Pronouncing its judgment on 13 petitions filed by the 15 convicts whose execution of sentence had been stayed by the apex court, the three-judge bench clarified that its directions be implemented in all cases whether a person has been convicted under IPC or the anti-terror law. The issue of communication of rejection of mercy plea assumes importance in view of the controversy surrounding the execution of Parliament attack case convict Mohd Afzal as there was allegation that his family members were not properly communicated about the dismissal of his plea and subsequent hanging.

Earlier, a two-judge bench in April 2013 had held that long delay in disposing of mercy pleas by the President or the governor of persons convicted under anti-terror laws or similar statutes cannot be a ground for commutation of death sentence. The April 12, 2013 ruling was pronounced while rejecting Bhullar’s plea for commutation of sentence on ground of delay in deciding his mercy plea. At that time, there were over 20 convicts facing execution.

Later on, an apex court bench had granted relief to a condemned prisoner M.N. Das who had sought conversion of his death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of delay in deciding his mercy petition. Justice Sathasivam, before taking over as CJI, had said that there was a need for “authoritative pronouncements” by a larger bench or a Constitution Bench on issues like mercy pleas to avoid conflicting views by smaller benches.

The 15 death row inmates on whose pleas the apex court delivered its verdict are sandalwood smuggler Veerappan’s aides and others. The other death row convicts included Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet Singh, Praveen Kumar, Sonia and her husband Sanjeev, Sundar Singh and Jafar Ali convicted in various cases. While Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet Singh and Jafar Ali are lodged in prisons in Uttar Pradesh, former Haryana MLA Ralu Ram Punia’s daughter Sonia and her husband Sanjeev are jailed in Haryana. Praveen is in a Karnataka jail and Sundar Singh is an inmate of a prison in Uttaranchal.Sonia and Sanjeev were awarded death penalty for killing eight members of her family, including her parents and three children of her brother in 2001.Gurmeet Singh was convicted for killing 13 of his family members in 1986. Jafar Ali murdered his wife and five daughters. Suresh and Ramji killed five of their relatives.

HRLN has filed a Special Leave Petition on behalf of thousands of innocent People who suffers illegal incarceration

The Petitioner had filed a Special Leave Petition against the impugned order of the High Court of Calcutta in Writ Petition No. 26112 of 2013 dated 30.08.2013.

This petition has been filed in the public interest against the state of West Bengal for and on behalf of thousands of persons who suffer illegal incarceration for varying periods of time without ever being charged with any offence on account of the police and magistrate’s illegally detaining such persons only under the provisions of sections 107, 109 and 151 Cr.P.C. These persons were in jail for days and sometimes months and then released without any criminal proceedings instituted against them.

Not only were these proceedings contrary to the abovementioned sections which speak only of execution of a bond and do not permit arrest solely on the basis of these sections of the Cr.P.C., additionally these arrests were contrary to the decision of the Supreme Court in Madhu Limaye Vs. Ved Murti (AIR 1971 SC 2481) where the Supreme Court held as under:

“…we have seen the provisions of section 107. That section says that action is to be taken in the manner hereinafter provided and this clearly indicates that it is not open to a Magistrate in such a case to depart from the procedure to any substantial extent. This is very salutary because the liberty of the person is involved and the law is rightly solicitous, that this liberty should only be curtailed according to its own procedure and not according to the whim of the Magistrate concerned. It behoves us, therefore, to emphasize the safeguards built into the procedure because from there will arise the consideration of the reasonableness of the restrictions in the interest of public order or in the interest of the general public.”

In the present petition, in addition to the prayers sought for in the Writ petition filed at the High Court of Calcutta, the petitioner has also sought for additional directions against the respondents. The directions are as under:

Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1), their men, agents and subordinates to immediately identify persons detained in the correctional homes of the State in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or Section 109 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 and forthwith release them and/or set them at liberty;
Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1), their men, agents and subordinates to ensure that no person is made to suffer imprisonment in connection with proceedings arising out of and/or invoking the provisions of Section 107 and/or Section 109 and/or Section 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 in the absence of any further substantive charges against them, and thus to ensure that no person is denied of his right to liberty;
For an order directing an enquiry by an independent person into the prevailing system of registered sureties in the state of West Bengal and thereafter to dismantle the system of registered sureties;
For an order directing all the Criminal Courts in the state of West Bengal to ensure that the Court orders are written only by authorized Court staff/judicial officers and that in no circumstance should personnel be associated with the writing of court orders:
• Issue a direction directing the Sub-divisional Magistrates and/or the Executive Magistrates in the State of West Bengal to release persons upon furnishing personal bonds who are incapable to bring or produce sureties in proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or Section 109 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973;
• Issue a Direction directing the Sub-divisional Magistrates and/or the Executive Magistrates in the State of West Bengal prohibiting them from passing directions requiring attendance of a person at the police station subsequent to his furnishing the requisite bond in proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or Section 109 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973;
• Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1), their men, agents and subordinates to suitably compensate persons detained in the correctional homes of the State in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or Section 109 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973;
• Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1), their men, agents and subordinates to ensure, by way of continuous monitoring and regular check in all the correctional homes that whenever a person is brought into any correctional home in the State, in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or 109 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, is immediately referred to the concerned District Legal Services Authority and/or the Sub-divisional Legal Services Authority and/or any other voluntary and non-governmental legal aid authorities for their immediate release;
• Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1) to ensure that persons detained by the police in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or 109 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are immediately expressly informed about their right to legal aid and to forthwith notify the concerned District Legal Services Authority and/or the Sub-divisional Legal Services Authority for rendering free legal services;
• Issue a direction directing the Sub-divisional Magistrates and/or the Executive Magistrates in the State of West Bengal to expressly inform all persons, brought before the authority in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or 109 and/or 110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, about their right to legal aid and to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner and to forthwith notify the concerned District Legal Services Authority and/or the Sub-divisional Legal Services Authority for engaging a Lawyer;
• Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1) to ensure that all the District Legal Services Authorities and the Sub-divisional Legal Services Authorities take immediate steps for engagement of a Lawyer whenever such request is made either by the concerned Executive Magistrates and/or by the Police to represent a person detained in proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or 109 and/or 110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure;
• Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1) to ensure that all persons arrested or detained in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or 109 and/or 110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are mandatorily produced before the concerned Executive Magistrate in person;

HRLN Law Interns filed a PIL to compensate the Acid Attack Survivor in the High Court of Allahabad

The PIL was filed by law interns associated with the Human Rights Law Network. Hearing public interest litigation (PIL), the Allahabad High Court has asked the state government whether it had any scheme to compensate acid attack victims in the state.

Passing the above order, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Mishra directed the state government to inform the court whether or not it had any scheme to compensate the acid attack victims in accordance with the provisions of section 357 of CrPC. The court further directed that if such a scheme was not there till date, the state government should ensure that it was made at an early date.

The petitioners, Ayushi Dubey and nine other law students, raised the matter of acid attack on a student and her mother in Badlapur, Janpur district, and sought the court's intervention for ensuring proper treatment and compensation to the victims and their rehabilitation on the one hand and police action against the accused on the other.

The court directed the respondents to ensure that due medical care was provided to the victim and her mother.

HRLN has filed a PIL to appoint an enquiry in the Matter of custodial death in Ghaziabad

The Petitioner has filed a PIL against the State of U.P which relates to the worst crime of society governed by rule of law called as custodial death of Shakeel at Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad who was a Son of Khalil Ahmad, and was a resident of Ward No. 2, Yaseen Garhi, Dasna, at Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad.

The Petitioner’s organization is a registered organization who is working in the State of Uttar Pradesh for the preservation, protection and promotion of Human Rights and especially for the rights of those peoples who were subjected to cruel discrimination for the centuries due to social backwardness and in economic disparity.

It is, therefore, Most Respectfully Prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to:-

·     Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of MANDAMUS commanding the State Human Right Commission to appoint an enquiry into the matter of the custodial torture and death of Shakeel, S/o Khalil Ahmad, R/o Ward No. 2, Yaseen Garhi, Dasna, Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad by the police of Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad and other constables in Police Station Kavi Nagar U/s 17 of Protection of Human Right Act, 1993 and submit its report before this Hon'ble Court in stipulated time.

·         Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of MANDAMUS directing an independent, impartial enquiry to be conducted by any retired District Judge of the State for submitting its report before the Court in a stipulated time.

·        Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of MANDAMUS commanding the Respondent No. 1 & 2 to furnish the record all custodial torture, custodial death and custodial rape in Police Stations, Police Lines and Police Outposts, Lock-ups in Uttar Pradesh for the last one year.

·        Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of MANDAMUS commanding the Respondent No. 1 to pay adequate compensation to the family members of the deceased Shakeel, S/o Khalil Ahmad, R/o Ward No. 2, Yaseen Garhi, Dasna, Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad.

·         Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of MANDAMUS commanding the respondents to initiate the departmental and disciplinary proceeding against the police personnel of Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad who are responsible for the custodial death of Shakeel.