Justice Dr. A. S. Anand, Chief Justice of India delivered the lecture on the occassion of Second Justice J.K. Mathur Memorial Lecture

Justice Dr. A. S. Anand, Chief Justice of India though most appropriate to lecture on the topic of Protection of Human Rights-Role of Judiciary' on the most pious occasion and to perpetuate the memory of Late Justice J.K. Mathur. Justice Dr. A. S. Anand delved on the wide issues of Human Rights and challenges of the new milleninum. He elaborated that human rights are based on man kind increasing demand for a decent civilized life in which the inherent dignity of each human being is well respected and protected. He described human rights "sacrosanct rights" which can not be derogated in any circumstances. He described the universal declaration of human rights as the 'Magna Carta' in the history of human rights

He said the founding fathers of the UN charter aspired and dreamed of a society in which there would be no discrimination between great or small, virtuous or vicious, rich or poor, wise or foolish and their inherent dignity, regardless of birth, status, race, colour, sex, language, religion or political or other opinion.

He stressed that the judicial institutions have a sacrosanct role to play not only for resolving inter-se disputes but also to act as a balancing mechanism between the confliccting pulls and pressures operating in a society. He said the Indian constitution which was adopted soon after the universal declaration of human rights gave wide impetus to the basic fundamental rights. The Indian courts of law whcih itself is a product of the constitution, functions to administer justice according to the law. He highlighted that the judiciary has responded to the hopes and aspiration of the people of this country by securing them social economic and political justice and thereby ensuring them equality and dignity. Justice Dr. A. S. Anand said that the journey of the Indian judiciary from the case of A.K. Gopalan (AIR 1950 SC 27) to Maneka Gandhi (AIR 1978 SC 597) via Bank Nationalisation (AIR SC 564) and Hardhan Saha's (AIR 1974 SC 2154) is itself a very dramatic and a educative journey. The court's through out the Indian jurisprudence history has attempted to mould and shape the law to responde to the society's desire that human rights be effectively protected

Role of Judiciary key in protection of human rights, says Attorney General

"Experience shows that governments are notoriously remiss in discharging their obligation. Consequently, the role of protection of human rights falls to the lot of the judiciary," said Mr. Soli J Sorabjee, Attorney General of India. "Human Rights are not gifts conferred by the State. Constitutions do not create Human Rights. They are enacted to protect Human Rights which inhere in individuals antecedent to Constitutions and laws," said the Attorney General. In this light he stressed upon the importance of an independent and impartial judiciary in protecting and promoting human rights.

Mr. Soli Sorabjee was delivering the 3rd Justice J.K. Mathur Memorial Lecture, on Judicial Protection of Human Rights in India, to the participants of the 3rd Post Graduate Diploma Course in Human Rights at Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) here today. The Kendra offers a full time PG Diploma Course in Human Rights recognised by the Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. The course looks at Human Rights from a South Asian Perspective and has participants from SAARC countries.

While tracing the history of judicial protection of Human Rights in India through landmark judgements, provisions in the Constitution and judicial interpretation of the Constitution, Mr. Soli Sorabjee praised the courts and the judiciary for their commendable and concerted efforts towards the protection of human rights. He specially appreciated the role of the Supreme Court in incorporating some of the Directive Principles into the fundamental rights, for liberalisation of the rule of locus standi and for its contributions towards the rights of prisoners and undertrials. However, he was quick to point out that, " The horrendous arrears of cases in courts is a shameful blot on our legal system, especially the criminal justice delivery system."

He remarked that, PIL has empowered concerned citizens and groups to approach the courts of law on behalf of the marginalized and voiceless sections of society, however he also mentioned that PIL had been abused in some cases and had also degenerated into PUBLICITY, PRIVATE and POLITICAL interest litigations.

The Attorney General emphasised on the need for awareness and respect for human rights amongst every citizen if a human rights culture was to be attained. "What is required is a concerted drive, a crusade in which the government, the bar, the bench and NGOs all have to play their respective roles," he added.

The function was presided over by Mr. Justice Brijesh Kumar, Judge Supreme Court of India. In his presidential address the Hon'ble Judge praised RLEK for its commendable work. Recalling the famous PIL, filed by RLEK against limestone mining in the hills of Mussoorie and Dehradun, Justice Brijesh Kumar lauded RLEK for initiating judicial activism in the field of environment.

"Challenges to Human Rights can be met by enforcing laws and at the same time brining about awareness amongst the citizens," he said. According to him, the need of the hour was balanced economic development for the economically deprived.

Mr. Justice S. B, Sinha, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, the Chief Guest at the Memorial Lecture, paid tributes to Late Justice J.K. Mathur and mentioned that Justice Mathur had been a crusader for the cause of Human Rights.

Justice Sinha opined that the present day society was divided on various counts. According to him empathy, wisdom, mutual love and trust were the key for survival of mankind.

Mr. Avdhash Kaushal, Chairperson RLEK, welcomed the distinguished dignitaries.

Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, Leader of Opposition, Government of Sri Lanka and Mr. Justice Pradeep Kant, Judge, High Court of Uttar Pradesh, were also present on this occasion.

 

Cross border, terrorism is the root cause of human rights violation, says Justice Ranganath Misra

Justice Ranganath Misra, MP, former Chief Justice of India and Chairperson of NHRC, said that cross border terrorism is main cause of violation of human rights in Jammu and Kashmir. To safeguard the human rights every possible steps will have to be taken. He said that Pakistan has double standards, they preach something and practice something different. Hence, we cannot trust or rely on the statement of Pakistani counterparts.

Justice Misra was addressing the participants of PG diploma course in Human rights at RLEK Human Rights Centre. He is the professor Emeritus of this Course.

On this occasion he released RLEK's publication in Hindi titled, 'Uttaranchal Rajya Ko Bhrastrachar Se Mukt Karne Ke Leye Margdarshika' for free distribution in Uttarakhand. The object of this book is to generate awareness amongst the public, public representatives and bureaucrats about the wide spread corrupt practices and the corruption. Uttarakhand is a newly created state so it is imperative to curb the corruption at this stage otherwise it will spoil the sprit which has been the driving force behind creation of separate hill state. RLEK has taken up this challenging task to fight against the corruption by collaborating with various agencies entrusted to ward off corruption and corrupt practices at all level.

Justice Misra said that corruption is biggest barrier in defending the human rights and it becomes a big problem for the society. Due to rising trends in corruption, the development of the country is not properly.

He said that corruption is like a cancer, and Uttarakhand is a newborn state, so it is very important to stop it by spreading in the state. He assured that in this mission he and his friends will help in every possible way.

On this occasion, he also released the annual report of RLEK for the year 2001 titled 'What They Say 2001'.

 

 

"Evolution in Terrorism is becoming a phenomenon" -D.R. Kaarthikeyan

"The aspect of terrorism has undergone a metamorphosis since the 1960's. At that time the terrorist organizations were more Euro centric and the war was more ideological. The crusade was between capitalism and socialism. It was sponsored by either of the two blocs and was purely political. However, today the situation varies as the target has shifted to Asia and the fight though still ideological is based on the concept of mid-east centric 'jehad', which is fast becoming international," said Mr. D. R. Kaarthikeyan.

He was addressing the participants of the 3rd Post Graduate Human Rights Diploma course at the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra at Dehradun. The lecture was also attended by some human ecology students on a visit from Sweden and Denmark. The students will later be doing a comprehensive research on the field of various RLEK endeavors.

The former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation also threw light on the kind of people lured by the terrorist organizations. During the Cold War era, the leadership was strong and trans-national but in the present times, the illiterate lower strata tends to be more involved in terrorist strikes due to financial constraints. Also the funder's have changed from being from the either of the two block's in the 1960's to Intelligence agents in the 1980's and at present the main sponsors of monetary aid to terrorist organization are either religious fanatics or drug traffickers.

Drawing further comparison Mr. Kaarthikeyan, also commented on the techniques, material and intentions of warfare, "The line between state and non-state targets is soon disappearing. Four decades back, the ammunition was confirmed to pistols and rifles, the trend changed to RPK and AK-47 in the 1980's but today there are more sophisticated weapons that are capable of destroying the whole human civilization in a few moments. Similarly, the objective of terrorists has always been the spread of terror but with changing times, the militants tend to focus on all including the civil society rather than just the military."

The former Director of the Central Reserve Police also commented on the altering tactics of modern 'jehad' or fight for the purity of Islam compared to previous terrorist activities. " The tactics have also undergone a considerable change. Earlier, the terrorists were using techniques like warning, bombing and assassination to create fear amongst the people but with the onset of religious notions and stereotypes, the terrorists have succumbed to being suicide bombers and using more complex methods of creating the fear syndrome which eventually gets enshrined in every individual's mindset. The terrorists today, have access to nuclear and biological weapons which can cause mass destruction."

"Terrorism is soon becoming a continuation of a religious policy and because of readily available funds, its tentacles are spreading fast. As a phenomenon, it is very close to being a Third World War."

Mr. Kaarthikeyan suggested that the failing promise of economic stability, lack of government support, failed societal structure and networks, and failed states are prone to support terrorist activities. In certain cases, these states therefore, move towards dictatorships.

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"International Convention on terrorism need of the hour," says Karthikeyan

Former CBI Director Mr. D. R. Karthikeyan today called for an international agreement to the growing means of terrorism in the world. "An act of terrorism in any part of the world is an act of terrorism against the entire world," said Mr. Karthikeyan while delivering an exhaustive talk on terrorism and human rights here.

Addressing participants of the Post Graduate Diploma Course in Human Rights at the RLEK Human Rights Center, he said that the very right to existence of human beings was being threatened by terrorism and the whole world had become a "helpless spectator to wanton violence." Dwelling on yesterday's destruction caused by terrorist attacks on the United States of America, he said that the twelve year old fight against terrorism being carried on by the U.S. had not been able to succeed in preventing such havoc," for all countries, including India, the fight against terrorism is an ongoing one with incidents of terrorism on the increase," he said.

"What is needed today is that the whole world should get together and condemn such ghastly deeds of violence; no section of the globe should condone these acts. There is no justification whatsoever for them and innocent human lives must be protected at all costs" said the former Director General of the NHRC. "Nations harboring terrorists should be made accountable under the law and terrorists from one country should not be able to seek shelter in any other country."

"India too has lost two prime ministers to such mindless violence and realises the extent to which terrorism wipes away all human rights at one go," said Mr. Karthikeyan while addressing the participants, which include those from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.

The idea of "one man's terrorist being another man's freedom fighter" cannot be sanctioned as freedom fighters never target non-combatant civilians, said Mr. Karthikeyan who is in the Doon valley on a three day lecture tour to the Human Rights Centre.

Talking at length about the LTTE, he said that it was one of the most " motivated movements" in the whole world. He said that this was the reason as to why it has survived for so many years.

Insurgency, said Karthikeyan developed out of a sense of grievance, genuine or imaginary, minor or major." If these grievances are taken note of, and attended to in a democracy, they would never take the proportions of insurgency. Consistent vigilance of such grievances in society is needed. Every section of society must feel safe and secure".

Mr. Karthikeyan said that politicization of civil services was an important cause of grievances not being attended to. "Today, a government official is under the influence of politicization and does not have courage to do his duty, even the credibility of investigative agencies has not been brought down due to such politicizing ", he said.

Talking about the loopholes in the Indian criminal justice, he said it was not geared to deal with the kind of crime taking place today," our procedures are not equipped to deal with cyber crime and nuclear crime and this leads to crime going unpunished in our country", said the former CBI Chief, "our trials need to be speedy and our forensic laboratories need to be equipped better with staff and devices to accelerate investigations", he said. "Loopholes in laws help terrorists, new tougher laws are needed and cases must be solved promptly to punish criminals"