On November 15, in the Punjab illegal cremations matter, the National Human Rights Commission announced a reward of 2.5 lakhs (around $5,500) to 109 families (See list) whose next of kin had been illegally cremated by the police, with no admission of liability or inquiry into the facts. Although some hailed this as a positive development […]
On September 23, the National Human Rights Commission held its first hearing after beginning the collection of claims in the Punjab illegal cremations matter. At the hearing, the Chair Justice AS Anand expressed a desire to grant compensation to some families before Diwali:
During the hearing on Thursday, Anand, upbeat with the 1,591 compensation claims filed […]
On September 23, the National Human Rights Commission held its first hearing after beginning the collection of claims in the Punjab illegal cremations matter. At the hearing, the Chair Justice AS Anand expressed a desire to grant compensation to some families before Diwali:
During the hearing on Thursday, Anand, upbeat with the 1,591 compensation claims filed […]
Last week, we reported that the Supreme Court directed the government of India to explain why it appointed former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) P.C. Sharma to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
In its response, the government pointed out Sharma’s role in the Punjab illegal cremations matter, where the CBI’s investigation has […]
The Supreme Court directed the government to explain the process it followed in making the controversial appointment of former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director P.C. Sharma to the NHRC:
The court gave the direction to Solicitor General G.E. Vahanvati after it was pointed out by Rajinder Sachar, counsel for petitioner People’s Union for Civil Liberties, […]
After the publication of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) notice in the Punjab illegal cremations matter, victims’ kin from other districts have questioned when they will receive justice. As per its January 13, 1999 order, the NHRC limited its inquiry to three crematoria in Amritsar district, despite the pattern of disappearances throughout Punjab and […]
Newspapers throughout Punjab have published a notice soliciting claims from survivors of disappearances perpetrated by the Punjab police during the police counterinsurgency movement. At the March 17 hearing of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the Punjab illegal cremations matter, the Commission had ordered the Punjab government to solicit affidavits from victim families. The […]
After eight years of fighting over legal issues in the Punjab illegal cremations matter, on March 17, 2004, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) ordered the Punjab government to publish a notice in several Punjab newspapers, soliciting affidavits by survivors of disappearances and extrajudicial executions from all of Punjab. This notice will include the names […]
P C Sharma, the former director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recently been appointed by the Central government as a member of the National Human Rights Commission. This move has been protested by a variety of people and organizations. The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has filed suit challenging the appointment:
PUCL submitted […]
Here is an article from the Hindustan Times covering the press conference of Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, in Amritsar on the Punjab illegal cremations matter pending before the National Human Rights Commission.