New Delhi, August 2nd, 2012

A delegation of the National Human Rights Commission headed by Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan will be in Chennai in Tamil Nadu from the 7th-9th August, 2012 to listen at an 'open hearing' the complaints relating to atrocities against Scheduled Castes and the problems faced by them in seeking justice from the State Government agencies. NHRC Members, Mr. Justice B.C. Patel, Mr. Satyabrata Pal, Registrar (Law), Mr. A.K. Garg, and senior officers of the Commission will be part of the NHRC delegation.

The Commission after hearing the affected people will also meet with the representatives of NGOs and later on hold discussions with the Chief Secretary, DGP and senior civil, police and jail officials on these issues at SDAT Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Sydenhams Road, Periamet, Chennai.

The Commission had invited complaints for this open hearing for which more than 1000 complaints were received out of which 317 have been short-listed for the open hearing. These mainly comprise complaints on denial of benefits of social welfare schemes, denial of entry to temples, non-issuance of caste certificates, police inaction and land grabbing by upper castes.

After the inauguration by the NHRC Chairperson at 10:00 AM on the 7th August, 2012, the complainants will be heard by the NHRC Members, Mr. Justice B.C. Patel and Mr. Satyabrata Pal in two separate benches. The hearing of complainants will continue on the 8th August, 2012 from 10:00 AM onwards. On the 9th August, 2012, the Chairperson, Members and senior officers of the Commission will meet the representatives of NGOs at the same venue from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Thereafter, the meeting with the senior officer of the State Government including Chief Secretary and DGP will be held from 11:45 AM to 01:30 PM. On the same day at 03:00 PM, the NHRC Chairperson accompanied by Members and senior officers will address a press conference on the outcome of the open hearing.

Prior to this, the Commission has held open hearings of complaints on atrocities against Scheduled Castes in Odisha and Gujarat. The Commission has decided to hold such open hearings to reach out to the Dalits and hear their complaints about violations of their rights by the public authorities as part of the recommendations given by Mr. K.B. Saxena, IAS(Retd) in his report commissioned by the NHRC on the continuing problems faced by the Scheduled Castes.

The report is available on the NHRC website: www.nhrc.nic.in. Among the recommendations Mr. Saxena made was one that the Commission organise at least one open hearing a year "where the victims of major atrocities can present their experiences and grievances in seeking justice from Government agencies and human rights bodies/non-governmental organizations/social workers and activists may apprise the Commission of difficulties encountered by them in taking up their complaints. In the interaction with the State Government subsequent to the hearing, the Commission may convey its observations and advice on various actions to be taken for effective enforcement of law, sustaining confidence of victims and, where required, looking into the conduct of officials coming in for adverse reference during the hearing. The follow up action on the hearings may be monitored."

The National Human Rights Commission, set up under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 with a mandate to promote and protect human rights in the country, has always paid particular attention to the needs of the weakest sections of Indian society, among whom the Scheduled Castes are among the most vulnerable. Their human rights have been systematically violated for centuries, and, despite the protection now formally afforded to them by the Constitution and the law, including the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, they continue to suffer discrimination, while their socio-economic condition remains a matter of the gravest concern.

Special care is both needed and justified for them, and therefore the Commission takes suo-motu cognizance of reports of atrocities committed against or problems faced by these communities, deals on priority with complaints it receives of human rights violations committed against them and works closely with other key stakeholders, including the NGOs who champion their cause, to try to get them justice and to bring them redress.

Because the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes suffer from a prejudice that is so deeply entrenched, both the general public and public servants need to be made aware of the scale of the problem, and of their responsibilities under the law to protect and promote their rights. The Commission therefore holds regular training programmes and workshops, and has published booklets, to encourage all stakeholders to work together to ensure that there are no atrocities committed on these communities, that there is no discrimination against them, or any other violation of their human rights.

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