NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, INDIA J. Number and nature of complaints 2.32 In pursuit of its primary goal of protection and promotion of human rights, the National Human Rights Commission has been making concerted efforts at enhancing awareness about human rights in the country. In this task, the Commission has been receiving full support both from civil society/NGOs/human rights activists and the media. The camp sittings and open hearings organized by the Commission in different parts of the country, to provide justice at the doorsteps of the victims of the human rights violations have proved to be of immensely useful. During these camp sittings and open hearings the media persons and NGOs/Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) are also associated. This has resulted in wide spread awareness about human rights, the National Human Rights Commission, and its functioning. People are coming forward voluntarily for the cause of protection of human rights, and the number of volunteers and NGOs working to safeguard human rights is increasing manifold. The Commission, in collaboration with NIC has taken an important stride by providing the facility of online registration of complaints through Common Service Centers spread across the country. For online registration of complaints, a common link has been developed where the complainant may register the complaint with the NHRC or with the SHRC. As a result, a good chunk of complaints have shifted to SHRCs. The number of complaints registered by the Commission which has crossed the figure one lakh, (1,17,808 cases registered in the year 2015-2016), has reflected a decreasing trend i.e., - 91,887 cases in the year 2016-2017, 79612 cases in the year 2017-2018 and 89,584 cases in the year 2018-2019. In the current year 2019-20, the Commission registered 76,628 cases. This declining trend may be attributed to the awareness created by the NHRC about its role, jurisdiction and functions besides the nature of complaints entertained by the Commission. In the past, due to lack of this awareness, such complaints which were not entertainable by the Commission, used to be received in large numbers, consequently the number of complaints dismissed in limine, as not entertainable, was very high. In the current year, 2019-2020, the Commission dismissed only 17,861 complaints in limine, whereas the number of such complaints has been 33,070 in 2017-2018, 42,527 in 2016-2017 and 28,116 in 2018-2019. 2.33 The 76,628 complaints, received in the Commission in the year 2019-2020 cover a 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 retiral benefits, negligence by public authorities and atrocities on Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) etc. The Commission also took cognizance of the intimations received regarding deaths in police encounters and police custody, judicial custody and in the custody of defence/paramilitary forces. Suo motu cognizance of many incidents based on reports in print and electronic media was taken including those cases which came to the notice of Chairperson, Members, Special Rapporteurs and senior officers of the Commission during their visits to different parts of the country. 16 ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20