सव भव तु सिखनः ु Annual Report 2022-23 Chairperson of the Na onal Commission for Backward Classes, Shri Priyank Kanoongo, Chairperson of the Na onal Commission for Protec on of Child Rights, Dr Kamlesh Kumar Pandey, Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabili es, Shri Vijay Sampla, Chairperson of the Na onal Commission for Scheduled Castes, Shri Harsh Chouhan, Chairperson of the Na onal Commission for Scheduled Tribes, and Shri Iqbal Singh Lalpura, Chairperson of the Na onal Commission for Minori es were the deemed Members of the NHRC for the discharge of func ons specified in clauses (b) to (j) of Sec on 12 of the PHRA, 1993. 1.9 2 During the year 2022-23, the Commission focused its a en on on a wide range of ac vi es in accordance with the various func ons as prescribed under Sec on 12 of the PHRA, 1993. It took suo motu cognizance of media reports as well as ac on on the basis of complaints covering a wide range of issues, such as alleged human rights viola on due to negligence by public servants in the preven on of such viola ons, alleged custodial deaths, torture, fake encounters, police high-handedness, viola ons commi ed by security forces, condi ons rela ng to prisons, atroci es commi ed on women and children and other vulnerable sec ons, communal violence, bonded and child labour, non-payment of re rement benefits, negligence by public authori es and atroci es on minori es, etc. In all these, apart from making some important intervenons by way of issuing direc ves to the concerned state governments and sending its own teams for conduc ng spot inquiries, the Commission also recommended the payment of monetary relief to the vic ms, whose rights were violated or their next-of-kin (NoK) along with direc ons to state governments to furnish proof of payments. 1.10 The Commission also explored areas of coopera on and coordina on between NHRC and State Human Rights Commissions (SHRCs) for protec ng and promo ng human rights. The Commission organised a mee ng with all the SHRCs and Statutory Full Commission's (SFC) Members as special invitees on 12 October 2022 to discuss important issues related to various thema c areas of human rights and also to explore the probable areas of collabora on between NHRC and SHRCs for effec ve protec on and promo on of human rights. 1.11 The Annual Report for the year 2022-23 deals with the issues pertaining to civil and poli cal rights including deaths in police/judicial custody, illegal deten on, death in police encounters, etc. The Report also focuses on economic and social rights, such as rights rela ng to health care including mental health care, right to food, right to educa on, rights of vulnerable groups including women, children, persons with disabili es and elderly persons, and rescue, release and rehabilita on of bonded and child labours. The above-men oned issues have been detailed out in different chapters of this Report. Chapter 1 - Introduction