Mr. Justice J.S. Verma takes over as NHRC Chairperson

Mr. Justice Jagdish Sharan Verma assumed the office of Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission on 4 November 1999. The very first action taken by him related to the devastating cyclone that had struck Orissa. In consultation with the Members and the rest of the Commission, the Chairperson announced that he and the other Members of the Commission would donate two days’ salary and the officers and staff of NHRC would donate one day’s salary to the relief fund for the cyclone-affected in Orissa. The amount so raised was immediately transferred to the Prime Minister’s relief fund.

Speaking of his priorities in regard to the Commission, Justice Verma said that he would seek to enhance public awareness of its work and its powers. He added that public awareness about the powers of the Commission was very limited and even government officials needed to be educated about the powers and working of the Commission.

Justice Verma said that another of his objectives would be to make the Protection of Human Rights Act as effective as possible by reading into it the intent behind the legislation and interpreting that to its fullest extent. The Commission is a complement to the institutions of the judiciary. The courts could take greater advantage of the Commission because there is no better agency to ascertain facts in respect of certain cases than the Commission. It was with this in view that he, when a Judge of the Supreme Court, had asked the Commission to monitor the working of several mental institutions and protective homes in the country and look into allegations of starvation deaths in Orissa.

He felt that the Commission’s enforcement capabilities needed to be better exercised in order that function more effectively. He added that he was looking forward to considering the Ahmadi Committee recommendations on possible amendments to the Protection of Human Rights Act. He also stressed the need for the establishment of additional State Human Rights Commissions, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, from where the most complaints were being addressed to the Commission.

Talking of the large number of complaints before the NHRC, he said that, more than the pendancy of such complaints, he was worried about the fact that the increase in their number was indicative of the increasing violations of human rights in society. "The greatest need is to increase awareness about human rights because every aware individual ceases to be a potential violator and instead becomes a potential protector", he said.