Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 9: Seeking public support for strengthening the institutions like Human Rights Commission and State Accountability Commission (SAC), Justice (Retd) J P Singh, Member SAC, today asked people to come out of sleeping mode and assert for protecting their rights, already guaranteed in the Constitution.
He also came down heavily on the Government and politicians, who were just giving lollypop to people by making false claims of giving power to them but taking no adequate steps to safeguard even their guaranteed rights.
“Even as all the Rights have been given in the Constitution as desired in individual capacity, it is astonishing that recommendations of Human Rights Commission are not binding,” Justice Singh said while delivering a lecture during one-day Human Rights Training Programme on `Human Rights and Good Government’, at Jammu University, here today.
He lamented that the aggrieved person has to again approach the court of law for implementation of recommendations of the Commission, which are virtually toothless because of no power. “Is it not a cruel joke? You (Government) have given a lollipop to the people on their rights and institutions,” he said.
Expressing his strong displeasure over the alleged lackluster approach of the Government in providing suo moto powers to the State Accountability Commission, of which he is one of the members, Justice J P Singh lamented that the Commission was unable to act on its own even if its finds corruption in the higher offices.
“We have to wait till a complainant comes forward and formally write to the Accountability Commission with some solid proofs that corruption has been done,” the SAC member said and rued that the system has been made so cumbersome that people feel discouraged in fight against corruption by higher ups.
“The irony is that framers of the law of Accountability Commission have to make a statement in the court for seeking powers while the person, against whom we had proceeded, goes to the court and appeals that we have no suo moto powers,” Justice Singh said and lamented that even the Government also made it clear before the court that SAC has no suo moto powers.
Exhorting the people to come out of sleeping mode and assert for the empowerment, the SAC member rued that no one among public, not even the opposition parties, came out in support of the Commission. “You (public) are makers of Government and if there is a public movement, the establishment can be compelled to act,” he stressed.
In response to a query, Justice Singh held the Executive responsible for not giving strength to judiciary, which has been facing shortage of judges and thus pendency of cases. “Courts are required to be created with persons of experience and integrity appointed as judges. A person who has never dealt with a case of section 323 RPC, is appointed to deal with murder and rape cases and the result is failure,” he said.
The one-day training programme on ‘Human Rights and Good Governance’, was organized by the Department of Law in JU, in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi.
The inaugural session of the programme was chaired by Justice J P Singh. Professor S K Sharma, former State Information Commissioner, was the guest of honour while Professor R D Sharma, Vice-Chancellor JU, presided over the inaugural function.
Prof S K Sharma highlighted the role of RTI as a tool in bringing transparency in the Government institutions which has resulted in establishing regime of accountability in governance leading to realization of human rights.
Professor R D Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu in his presidential address, emphasized on the relationship between rights and duties and stressed that performance of duty ensures the protection of rights.
Earlier, Head of the Department of Law, Professor Arvind Jasrotia, threw light on key international human rights instruments available for the promotion and protection of human rights. The second session of the workshop was chaired by Professor Poonam Dhawan, Dean Academic Affairs, JU and the invited speakers included Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed and Pradeep Dutta, Bureau Chief, Times Now.
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