JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA

FACULTY OF LAW

HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA:

PROBLEMS AND FOCUS AREAS

SUBMITTED BY; KHUSHBU GUPTA

B.A.LL.B.(HONS.) SELF-FIANCE 3RD YEAR

SUBMITTED TO: PROF. MOMIN NOORJAHAN

 INTRODUCTION

Human Rights are commonly understood as ‘inalienable fundamental rights to which

a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being.’ Human
Rights are thus conceived as universal and the same for everyone. These rights may
exists as natural rights and legal rights in both national law and international law. The
doctrine of human rights have been a cornerstone of public policy around the world.
The idea of human rights states ’if the public discourse of peacetime global society
can be said to have a common moral language, it is that of human rights.

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings whatever our nationality, place
of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language or any other
status. We are equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination.

MEANING OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Hunan brings are rational beings. They are born Equal in dignity and rights. They by
virtue of being human posses certain basic and inalienable rights which are commonly
known as human rights. They belong to them because of their very existence and are
operative from their birth.

DD Basu defines human rights as those minimum rights which every individual must
have against the state or other public authorities by virtue of being a member of
human family, irrespective of any other consideration.

The idea of human rights is bound with the idea of human dignity. Chief Justice of
India J.S. Verma has rightly stated that ‘human dignity is the quintessence of human
rights’.
 CONCEPT BEHIND BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS

The modern concept of human rights developed in the aftermath of Second World
War. The phrase’human rights’ is relatively modern, its intellectual foundations can be
traced through Philosophy and time honoured concepts of natural law and liberty

Respect and realization of human rights requires evolving a culture that is more
sensitive to the basic needs of every human being. It respects the need for ensuring to
everyone justice, social, economic and political, and provides fair and equal
opportunities for growth and development to every individual and group of people. It
protects everyone from being subjected to the whims of State and its arbitrary
exercise of power and use of force by its agencies.

The United Nations and its members developed much of its discourse and the bodies
of law that now makeup International Humanitarian Law and International Human
Rights Law

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The Fundamental Rights are defined as the basic human rights of all citizens.

These rights, defined in Part III of the Constitution, applied irrespective of race, place
of birth, religion, caste, creed, or gender. Some human rights are guaranteed to the
citizen in form of fundamental rights which are as follows:

1. Equality before law

2. Prohibition of discrimination

3. Equality of opportunity

4. Freedom of speech and expression

5. Freedom of peaceful assembly

6. Right to form association or union

7. Freedom of movement within the border

8. Protection in respect of conviction for offences

9. Protection of life and personal liberty

10. Protection of slavery and forced labour

11. Freedom of conscience and religion

12. Remedy for enforcement of right

DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Directive principles of state policy are guaranteed under part IV of Indian

Constitution which have been incorporated.

1. Right to adequate means of livelihood

2. Right against economic exploitation

3. Right to equal pay for equal work

4. Right to work

5. Right to leisure and rest

6. Right to public assistance in case of public unemployment

7. Just and human conditions at work place

8. Maternity leave

9. Mandatory payment of living wages

10. Uniform civil code

11. Free and compulsory education

12. Promotion of educational and economic interests of Schedule caste Schedule

tribes and weaker sections

13. Equitable justice and free legal aid

14. Free choice of employment

15. Right to proper social order

OTHER RIGHTS

1. Right to go abroad

2. Right to privacy

3. Right against solitary confinement

4. Right against bar fetters

5. Right to speedy trial

6. Right against handcuffing

7. Right against delayed excecution

8. Right against custodial violence

9. Right against public hanging

10. Right to health care

11. Right to know

12. Right to compensation

13. Right to release and rehabitation of bonded labour

14. Right against cruel and inhuman punishment

15. Right to vote

16. Right to property

SUPREME COURT ON HUMAN RIGHTS

In A.K Gopalan V. State of Madras 1 personal liberty was held to mean liberty of the
physical restrains of body only. In this case, the majority held that the expression,
'procedure established by law' means procedure prescribed by the law of the state i.e.
this right is guaranteed against executive arbitrariness and if the following conditions
are satisfied, once liberty may be deprived:

(i) There should be a law  

(ii) Law should be a valid law  

(iii) The procedure laid down by law should be followed.

In Menaka Gandhi v. Union of India2 Indian Supreme Court pronounced a landmark

judgment that the procedure contemplated by Article 21 should be in conformity with
the principles of natural justice and unless it was so, it would be no procedure at all;
the requirement of Article 21 would not be satisfied.

In Hussainara Khatoon V. State of Bihar 3) while considering the plight of the

undertrails in Jail, speedy trial was held to be an integral part of the right to life and
liberty contained in Article 21 of the constitution of India.

In ADM Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla4, This case is the black spot on Indian historical
judgement. In this case four out of five judges held that all fundamental rights will

1
1950 AIR 27
2
1978 AIR 597
3
1979 AIR 1369
4
1976 AIR 1067
remain suspended during emergency. Our Judiciary failed to satisfy the need of
Human Rights

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN INDIA

The several major attacks on human rights in India -- from draconian laws curbing
freedom of expression to harassment and intimidation of several communities and
minority groups. The major human rights violations in India are:

Abuses by armed groups.

Many armed groups committed human rights abuses. While the Communist Party of
India (Maoist) was suspected of extortion, abductions and unlawful killings in central
and south India, armed groups in north east India are believed to have committed
similar crimes. This included the killing of 14 people by National Democratic Front of
Bodoland

Caste-based discrimination and violence:

Caste discrimination involves massive violations of civil, political, economic, social

and cultural rights. It is often outlawed in countries affected by it, but a lack of
implementation of legislation and caste-bias within the justice systems

Article 15 prohibits the state from discriminating any citizen on ground of any
religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.

Children's rights.

The rights of children mark.the starting point of human dignity, because they form the
majority of the deprived section of the world. Children are maltreated and used as
labour as they are available to work at lowest pay.
Communal and ethnic violence.

Many people were attacked by vigilante cow protection groups. These self-appointed
guardians of cows beat up many people legally transporting cattle, and many of those
affected were minority groups. Two Muslim cattle traders were found hanging from a
tree in Jharkhand. Other violations included gangrape of women and forcing cattle
transporters to eat cow dung.

Corporate accountability.

A coal mine was expanded in Chhattisgarh, resulting in grabbing of Adivasi land

without their consent. In Gujarat, the government sanctioned land acquisition for
several projects which led to forceful evictions of families living there. In Jharkhand,
three men were shot dead for demonstrating against a power plant, while four others
were killed in a separate protest against a coal-mine.

Extrajudicial killings.

A former Manipur state police officer claimed that he had been part of more than 100
such executions. Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, 47 police officers were convicted of
extrajudicial executions of 10 men. Similar killings also took place in Chhattisgarh,
Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.

Violence against women,

Violence against women – particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence –
is a major public health problem and a violation of women's human rights. Violence
can negatively affect women’s physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health.
Women are more likely to experience intimate partner violence if they have low
education, exposure to mothers being abused by a partner, abuse during childhood,
and attitudes accepting violence, male privilege, and women’s subordinate status.
LGTBTI rights.

The cabinet approved a flawed bill on transgender people's rights with a problematic
description of trans people. Indians continued to fight for the decriminalisation of
consensual same-sex relations.

Human right defenders.

At least two journalists were shot dead allegedly for writing against the establishment.
Another journalist was forced to leave her home and yet another was arrested for
sharing a message mocking a police official.

Activists too faced intimidation, physical attacks and harassment. Several other
journalists and activists were also arrested on false or politically-motivated charges,
according to the report.

Freedom of association.

The government cancelled the registration of several civil society organisations which
specifically prevented them from getting foreign funding, even after the UN claimed
it was not in accordance

Freedom of expression.

Several people were arrested under sedition laws for expressing their dissent with
government policy. Indians were arrested for even posting comments on Facebook.
Two men were arrested under informational technology law for sharing a satirical
image of a Hindu nationalist group.

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES TO HUMAN RIGHTS

All throughout the ages people have been governed by rulers who followed different
system and forms of government and used their power and authority to suppress the
common people. Human Rights in simple sense refers to the certain basic or
fundamental rights which are universal for humanity and is entitled to each person of
our society irrespective of Caste, creed, color, race, origin, sex, religion etc. The
Principle Objective of human rights for protection of human life and liberty, to
preserve the dignity of people, promoting healthy development, maintaining equality
etc. In India the violations of human rights is equal to the violations of the democratic
principles which is enshrined in the constitution of India. Human rights are no longer
the concerned of any particular country and became an international issue

There are numerous incidents of the violations of human rights and some of them are
described below.

With the rising crimes, violations, scams and scandals human rights are being violated
and taken for granted and in the recent years conditions have become worst and
deteriorated in India. Violence against women is increasing at an alarming rate and
they are at a high risk of sexual harassment, trafficking, and forced labour including
violations of equal participation in political, economic and social life.The
circumstances for women rights and their freedom seems to have deteriorated, with
not only people committing women rights violations but also powerful politician and
police who are easily compromising with the security of women. Despite the various
strong laws and acts framed by the government, women across India still continue to
suffer from domestic violence, acid attacks, rape and murder etc.

Another incident which violated the right to security of people was Indore-Patna
deadliest train accident which took place on 20 November 2016. This accident took
the life of more than 150 people and over 200 people got injured. This accident was
one of the deadly derailment of the year. It was one of the worst rail accident in 6
years. The Main reason of this deadliest accident was because of the casual behavior
of the politician of our country who are accountable to the people security. Because of
their casual behaviour and lenience towards their work, the outcome was that the
innocent people who have voted for such politician to be their representative had to
sacrifice with their life

Project displacement, for the construction of large dams or for power projects, for
instance, have led to protest movements directly involving the affected people

The loss to communities of right over land is widespread, and various movements to
recover control over land and related resources have been active particularly in the
past decade and a half, though some movements go back many decades.The issue of
tribal land alienation was linked with that of displacement, and the judicial system
was used to get an order declaring unconstitutional the transfer of land from a tribal to
a non-tribal through the medium of the state

India has not ratified the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees, nor has it signed the
1967 protocol. The Indian state has generally resisted visits from the UNHCR to
camps where refugees are housed. Activists say that the Indian state has been
relatively benign towards refugees.

Apart from issues of rights over resources, and in the context of displacement and
relocation, the death of cotton farmers has, for instance, raised questions about
protection of livelihood. Liberalisation has resulted in loss of jobs to large numbers in
the workforce, and we hear of deaths among the working classes. This is an area that
seems to demand closer attention.

Not only this several issues and challenges have occurred and ended with the
violations of human rights. It is just because the politicians of our country have got
the habit to play with the life of the people. It seems that Government have lost their
moral compass and needs to be reminded again that are accountable to the people as
well as towards the security of the people
 FOCUS AREAS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

HUMAN RIGHT COUNCIL OF INDIA is focusing on the following operational

areas5:.

Promote organisation of forums such as co-operative societies, mandals and

association of women, youth and workers with a view to undertaking
collective activities for socio-economic development.
Organize educational and vocational training programme with special focus
for deprived sections, women/girls and unemployed youth to provide new
skills, refine/sharpen/upgrade the existing skills leading to employment, self
employment and income generation.
To follow, adopt & promote Universal Declaration of Human Rights of
United Nations and Indian Constitution & National-International Law.
To spread awareness about Protection of Environments and Population
Control.
To Promote/Solve Cause of Health Care, Food Problem, Housing/Shelter
Problems & Humanitarian Relief/Refugees / Indigenous People Problems.
To help Disabled, Children, Youth, AIDS Patients, Ageing People, Drug
Addicts, HIV Victims.
To Promote Welfare of Labour Union Rights & Economic & Social
Development.
To promote & educate Equality, as well as Equity, International Integration,
Brotherhood, Non-Violence, Love, Peace, Justice, Protection & Promotion of
Human Rights for all.
To organize Conferences, Summits, Seminars, Meetings, Discussions,
Debates, Study Courses, Collection of Statistics, Exhibitions, Shows, Tour
Trips etc. (India and abroad)

5
Hrcoi.com\focusareas.htnl
To provide legal aid and advice for the indigent and weaker sections of the
society and to share global health and global population change.
To suggest action for violation of rights by armed political groups and
terrorists.
To create an environment as well as an understanding that Human Rights can
easily become vulnerable to abuse of various structures and processes of
power and to examine the inter-dependence of and linkage between Human
Rights and democracy, pluralism, development, ecological balance, peace and
harmony at the national and international levels.
To train the young men and women for facing the challenges of the
pluralistic society and the rising conflicts and tensions in the name of
particularistic loyalties to caste, religion and culture and to work in close
cooperation with national Human Rights commissions on women, minorities,
S.C., S.T. and NGOs and media organizations for promoting Human Rights
education.
To make people aware of “Human Rights duties”, privileges conduct training
camps & workshops; establish old age homes, residential/vocational schools &
colleges, research & medical colleges and Human Rights Camps.
To promote art & culture, maintain, encourage, and assist/help setting up
Centers for promotion of Human Rights.
To promote social progress and better standards of life and activity in
cooperation with the Government of India and other countries to promote
human rights education.
To develop a more distinctive and effective role for the International Court of
Justice to fulfill the Human Rights and spread the messages/values of Human
Rights by way of Human Rights education.
To open training camps and workshops for the development of arts, plays and
culture and raise funds through subscriptions, donations, trade to fulfill the
aims and objects.
 To establish and conduct centers of treatment and rehabilitation for the
victims of violators of Human Rights.
To actively join hands with the Government of India and other countries to
promote Human Rights education and help legal, social and economic
discrimination against women and their exploitation in different ways.
To publish books, encyclopedias, monographs, journals and directories on
Human Rights and study and prepare reports on the violation, etc.
To effectively work for gender inequalities, exploitations and injustice as also
to encourage / assist talented artists, poets, singers, writers, social workers,
journalists, doctors, judges, etc.
To organize and participate in cultural programmes to foster a spirit of
nationalism to achieve co-operation in solving various problems of economic,
social, cultural or humanitarian character and in promoting and encouraging
respect for human rights.
To help freedom fighters, widows/war widows and orphans and running
schools, colleges & similar institutions, etc.
To work for ensuring that basic Human Rights are respected everywhere and
to keep the interest of disempowered communities foremost in all dealings
with countries in which Human Rights violations occur.
To support through the UN framework, democratic and economic reforms in
countries coming out to totalitarian control and to restrict cooperation with
governing regimes that violate Human Rights.

CASES ON VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Khatri (II) v. State of Bihar6 popularly known as Bhagalpur Blinding case was the first
case where the question of granting monetary compensation was considered by the
Supreme Court. In this case, it was alleged that the police had blinded certain
prisoners depriving them of their right to life and liberty

6
1981 SCR (2) 408
The Supreme Court's reticence in granting monetary compensation despite its
formulation of justification for adopting such a tool was got over by it in Rudul Sah v.
State of Bihar7 wherein it granted monetary compensation of rupees thirty- five
thousand to the petitioner against the lawless act of the Bihar Government which kept
him in illegal detention for over fourteen years after acquittal.It was pointed out that
Article 21 would be denuded of its significant content if the power of the Court was
limited to passing of orders of release from illegal detention.

The decision in Sebastian M. Hongray v. Union of India8 involved the failure of the
Government to produce two persons in the court. In fact the truth was that these two
persons who were taken into custody by the military had met unnatural death. The
Court, in the circumstances, keeping in view the torture, the agony and mental
oppression undergone by the wives of the persons directed to be produced, instead of
imposing fine on the Government for civil contempt of the Court,

Bhim Singh v. State of J&K9 the Supreme Court noted that the police officer acted in
the most high-handed way and it awarded rupees fifty thousand as monetary
compensation by way of exemplary costs to the petitioner so as to compensate him
"suitably and adequately".

In the decisions from Rudul Shah to Bhim Singh the Court laid down no basis for
quantification of the amount of exemplary costs. And perhaps this was the reason that
the amount of monetary compensation varied in these cases. The discretion to award
monetary compensation for the gross violation of Article 21 was left to the individual
Judge who decided the case.

The Supreme Court in Peoples' Union for Democratic Rights v. State of Bihar 10 laid
down the working principle for the payment of compensation to the victims of
ruthless and unwarranted police firing. In this case, about twenty-one persons
including children died and many more were injured due to the unwarranted firing of
7
1983 (4)SCC 141
8
1984 AIR 1086
9
AIR 1986 SC 494
10
1987 AIR 355
the police. The Supreme Court observed:

In C. Ramkonda Reddy v. Stateit was held that suit for compensation against the
State, when an undertrial prisoner in jail lost his life due to failure or neglect of its
officers to perform their duties, will be maintainable. The Court pointed out that this
is the only mode in which right to life guaranteed by Article 21 can be enforced.

Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa11, is yet another case of custodial death where the
deceased was taken into police custody and the next day his body was found on the
railway tracks with multiple injuries. The Supreme Court once again reiterated that in
case of violation of fundamental rights by State's instrumentalities or servants, the
Court can direct the State to pay compensation to the victim or his heir by way of
"monetary amends" and redressa

In D.K. Basu v. State of W.B 12. the Supreme Court while disposing of a public interest
litigation considered the important issue of police atrocities and custodial violence in
detail.

The Court suggested two possible safeguards to check the abuse of police power.
First, transparency of action and secondly, accountability. In addition to this, the Court
also stressed the need to pay attention to properly developed work culture, training
and orientation of the police force consistent with basic human values

CONCLUSION

The lndian Constituti~nis a document rich in human rights jurisprudence. This is an

elaborate charter on human rights ever framed by any State in the world. Part Ill of the
lndian Constitution may be characterised as the 'Magna Carta' of India. The Judiciary
in lndia plays a significant role in protecting human rights. The lndian Courts have

11
1993 SCR (1) 582
12
1997 (1)CCR81
now become the courts of the poor and the struggling masses and left open their
portals to the poor, the ignorant, the illiterates, the downtrodden, thehave-nots, the
handicapped i'ndthe half-hungry, half-naked countryman