West Bengal Post-Poll Violence: NHRC Constitutes Committee To Look Into Complaints As Per Calcutta High Court's Order

The Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Justice Arun Mishra has constituted a Committee to enquire into the complaints of post-poll violence in the state of West Bengal and has asked the committee to start its inquiry process immediately.

This comes after the Calcutta High Court today refused to recall its June 18 order directing the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to constitute a committee for examining complaints filed by persons displaced during post-poll violence in West Bengal.

The Committee is as under:-

1. Rajiv Jain, Member, NHRC, head of the Committee.
2. Atif Rasheed, Vice Chairperson, National Commission for Minorities.
3. (Dr.) Rajulben L. Desai, Member, National Commission for Women.
4. Santosh Mehra, Director General (Investigation), NHRC.
5. Pradip Kumar Panja, Registrar, West Bengal State Human Rights Commission.
6. Raju Mukherjee, Member Secretary, West Bengal State Legal Services Authority.
7. Manzil Saini, DIG (Investigation), NHRC.

The notification issued by the NHRC states that as per the directions of the High Court:-

• This Committee shall examine all cases of post-poll violence in West Bengal, complaints for which have already been received in the National Human Rights Commission or which may be received.
• The Committee shall also examine the complaints which have been received by the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority and also further complaints that may be received by the Legal Services Authority.
• The cases shall be examined, including by visiting the affected areas and shall submit a comprehensive report to the High Court of Calcutta about the present situation and also steps to be taken to ensure the confidence of the people that they can peacefully live in their houses and also carry on their occupation or business to earn their livelihood.
• The Committee shall also point out the persons, prima-facie, responsible for crime and the officers who maintained calculated silence on the issue.

The 5-Judges Bench of the Calcutta High Court hearing the matter today said that the order was being passed after the State failed to inspire the confidence of the Court and it does not find any occasion to recall/ modify or stay its operation.

Background