Mizoram Ordered to Establish Human Rights Commission in Two Months, Gauhati High Court Warns of Strict Action

AIZAWL: In a landmark judgment, the Gauhati High Court has issued a strict directive to the government of Mizoram to set up a full-fledged State Human Rights Commission within two months. The ruling came out on a public interest litigation filed against the glaring absence of a human rights body in the state, which is statutorily mandated under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Mitali Thakuria has issued an ultimatum that "appropriate action" would be taken against the Mizoram government if it fails to comply within the stipulated period. The court felt that a human rights commission plays a significant role in safeguarding the rights of citizens and also hears complaints, and the commission's non-existence in Mizoram has caused several complaints to remain unresolved.

Human rights groups have been demanding the setting up of an SHRC in Mizoram, citing the state's susceptibility to a whole set of rights-related issues that largely go unchecked. Human rights organisations and activists welcomed the court's ruling as the commission's absence is seen as a big hole in the governance mechanism of the state. They believe that the absence of an institutional mechanism to receive and act on complaints of human rights abuses has deprived many citizens, particularly from the marginalized sections of society, of an avenue for redress.

"With no SHRC, there is no institutional mechanism to deal with complaints of human rights violations, and this backlog contributes to unresolved problems," said one human rights activist. "This order is timely and extremely essential to bring justice to the people of Mizoram."

Secondly, the judgment of the Gauhati High Court upholds the requirement of bringing the state governance in line with national legislation, more so on matters so fundamentally important as human rights. The Protection of Human Rights Act requires that every state have a commission exclusively entrusted with checking right violations and abuses and ensuring that the fundamental rights of its citizens are well guarded.

The clock has now started ticking, and all eyes are riveted on the Mizoram government as to whether it will rise to this immediate challenge. In case of failure of the government to constitute SHRC within the stipulated period, the court has given an indication that it would not hesitate to exercise other legal options to compel compliance.

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