Provide facilities to KSHRC within 6 months: HC

BANGALORE: The High Court on Monday directed the State government to provide all necessary facilities to Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) within six months.A Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice A S Bopanna, while disposing of a PIL filed by South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM) seeking adequate facilities to KSHRC to function effectively, directed the government to also consider its proposal to open its six wings in the State.During the hearing when the government counsel Devdas submitted that steps have been taken to fulfil all the demands of the KSHRC, the counsel for petitioners Siji Malayil submitted that there is a huge difference between the requisition made by the KSHRC and the sanction granted by the government.“The demand has been partly met despite several requisitions.Even the post of IGP is vacant since a long time,” he said.The Division Bench disposed of the petition with a direction to comply with the order within six months and the petitioners were granted liberty to approach the court, if there was no compliance of orders.The petitioners had submitted that the Commission is badly neglected by the State government. Submitting that Human Rights Law has no growth on its own unless the necessary infrastructure for receiving information and conducting investigation is provided, they said that the Commission is being run in a small 4,500 sq feet space against the demanded 20,000 sq ft area, which is insufficient to meet the requirements.Mentioning that the staff provided to the Commission is very minimal, the petitioners said that, of the total 491 staff sought, the government has sanctioned 105 staff.Stating that the cadre and recruitment rules of the staff of the commission are not yet notified by the government, the petitioners said that their proposal to open wings in six police ranges is in cold storage