NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
important cases are also considered in sittings of the Commission in open court hearings. The
Division has also been organizing camp sittings in different State capitals to expedite disposal
of pending complaints and sensitize the State functionaries on the human rights issues. The
Commission has also been organizing open hearings regarding atrocities on Scheduled Castes
in the country to have direct interaction with the affected persons belonging to Scheduled
Castes. The Division further provides its views / opinion on various Bills/draft legislations
referred to it for better protection and promotion of human rights. The Law Division has come
out with few important publications like “NHRC & HRDs: The Growing Synergy”, etc. There
is also a Focal Point for Human Rights Defenders who is accessible to HRDs round the clock
through (i) Mobile No. 9810298900, (ii) Fax No. 24651334, and (iii) E-mail: hrd-nhrc@nic.in.
3.14 The Law Division is headed by a Registrar (Law), who is assisted by Presenting Officers,
a Joint Registrar, a number of Deputy Registrars, Assistant Registrars, Section Officers and
other Secretarial staff.
3.15 The Investigation Division is headed by an officer of the rank of Director General
of Police, assisted by one DIG and three Senior Superintendents of Police. Each Senior
Superintendent of Police heads a group of investigative officers (comprising of Deputy
Superintendents of Police and Inspectors). The functioning of Investigation Division is multidimensional, details of which are as follows:
(a) Spot Enquiries: The Investigation Division conducts spot enquiries and recommends
suitable action in the cases revealing human rights violation. The spot enquiries conducted
by the Investigation Division not only bring out the truth before the Commission,
but also send a message to all concerned – complainants, public servants, etc,. The
Commission orders a Spot enquiry in a range of cases concerning a variety of public
authorities – from illegal detention, extra judicial killing, etc., by the police to the
lack of facilities in a hospital leading to avoidable deaths. Spot enquiries enhance the
confidence of general public too and instill their faith in NHRC’s role in protection
of Human Rights. The Investigation Division also gives its comments / observations,
whenever sought, in the cases of advice / analysis, besides monitoring cases whenever
referred to it.
(b) Custodial Deaths: As per the guidelines issued by the Commission to the State authorities,
the latter are supposed to intimate the Commission in case of any death occurring
in custody (whether in police or judicial custody) within 24 hours. The Investigation
Division, on receiving such intimations, analyzes the reports in order to find out if
there was any human rights violation involved. In order to make the analysis more
professional and accurate, Investigation Division seeks help from the forensic experts
on the panel of NHRC.
Annual Report 2017-2018
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