NHRC, India Iqbal Singh Lalpura, Chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities were the deemed Members of the NHRC for the discharge of functions specified in clauses (b) to (j) of Section 12 of the PHRA,1993. 1.6 During the year 2021-22, the Commission focused its attention on a wide range of activities in accordance with the various functions as prescribed under Section12 of the PHRA, 1993. It took suo motu cognizance of media reports as well as action on the basis of complaints covering wide range of issues, such as alleged human rights violation due to negligence by public servants in the prevention of such violations, alleged custodial deaths, torture, fake encounters, police highhandedness, violations committed by security forces, conditions relating to prisons, atrocities committed on women and children and other vulnerable sections, communal violence, bonded and child labour, non-payment of retirement benefits, negligence by public authorities and atrocities on SC/ST etc. In all these, apart from making some important interventions by way of issuing directives to the concerned State Governments and sending its own teams from the Investigation Division for conducting on the spot inquiries, the Commission also recommended the payment of monetary relief to the victims, whose rights were violated or their next-of-kin (NoK) along with directions to state governments to furnish proof of payments. 1.7 The Commission also explored areas of cooperation and coordination between NHRC and State Human Rights Commissions (SHRCs) for protecting and promoting human rights. The Commission organised a meeting with all the State Human Rights Commissions and Statutory Full Commission’s Members as special invitees on 13October 2021, to discuss important issues related to various thematic areas of human rights and also to explore the probable areas of collaboration between NHRC and SHRCs for effective protection and promotion of human rights. 1.8 The Annual Report for the year 2021-2022 deals with the issues pertaining to civil and political rights including deaths in police/ judicial custody, illegal detention, high-handedness of police, death in police encounters, etc. The Report also focuses on economic and social rights, such as rights relating to health care including mental health care, right to food, right to education, rights of vulnerable groups including women, children, persons with disabilities and elderly persons, rescue, release and rehabilitation of bonded and child labours. 1.9 The above-mentioned issues have been detailed out in different chapters of this Annual Report for the year 2021-2022. ANNUAL REPORT 2 2021-22