SC quizzes Centre over setting up of SHRC in Delhi

The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the delay in setting up a State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) in the national capital and asked the government why it was taking so long.

A bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur asked Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar to seek instructions from the Centre on a contempt petition filed by Indu Prakash Singh.

The petitioner contended that despite Delhi government completing the formalities and sending recommendation to the Lieutenant Governor, the Centre has not done anything till date.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioner, said the delay was on the part of Centre as the recommendation to set up the SHRC has already been sent by Delhi government to the LG.

The apex court last year had questioned why the SHRC had not been set up in Delhi and also directed Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland to set up SHRCs. During the hearing, the bench enquired whether the northeastern states have complied with the direction to set up SHRCs.

To this, Gonsalves said he was not aware of the situation there, to which the bench said “you must not neglect the northeastern states”.

The court in July last year had rejected the state governments’ plea that setting up SHRCs was not mandatory for them. It had said, “The significance of human rights and the need for their protection and enforcement is beyond the pale of any debate.”