The Calcutta High Court Friday directed the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to constitute a committee for examining all cases of alleged human rights violations in the post-poll violence in West Bengal.
The bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justices I P Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Subrata Talukdar, observed that it is a case where the allegation is that life and property of the residents of the state is in danger.
The committee thus formed would also suggest the steps to be taken to ensure confidence of the people so that they can peacefully live in their houses and also carry on their occupation or business to earn livelihood, the bench said. “The persons prima facie responsible for crime and the officers who maintained calculated silence on the issue, be pointed out,” the bench ordered, instructing that the matter would be taken up for hearing again on June 30.
A five-judge bench of the high court heard a bunch of PILs alleging post-poll violence in the state. The court directed that the committee will examine all the cases, the complaints of which have already been received by the NHRC or which may be received and may be preparing a comprehensive report and also visiting the affected areas. Any obstruction will be viewed seriously, which may entail action under the Contempt of Courts Act besides others, the bench said in its order. The court ordered that the Member Secretary of State Legal Services Authority will be a member of the committee to be set up by the chairperson of the NHRC and a representative from the State Human Rights Commission, West Bengal be also associated with it.
The bench said that complaints with regard to post-poll violence received by the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority (WBSLSA) have been tabulated in six different categories. They are –
(A) property vandalised/ looted/ damaged by miscreants,
(B) threat by miscreants as a result of which the applicant(s) are out of his/their house and requires to be reinstated,
(C) assault/sexual assault by miscreants,
(D) grabbing/encroaching of property by miscreants,
(E) shop/business forcefully closed by miscreants and
(F) the demand of ransom by miscreants.
The court had instructed that the affected persons can additionally send a copy of the complaints on the designated e-mail ID of the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority.
