"Human Rights Commission is not even a paper tiger"
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 15 February 2013 21:45 IST
Justice Prafull Kumar Misra has said that Goa Human Rights Commission is not even a paper tiger.
He is the first chairman of Goa's Human Rights Commission.
He feels the Commission should be given more teeth to deal with public functionaries.
He now plans to deal with it by filing petitions in the high court, if the government fails to take action against erring officer.
The office has started two years after he took over and still waiting for the government to appoint a police team to investigate.
Goa's human rights commission is basically meant to deal with government servants who harass the general public as well as their own colleagues in the administration.
But the Commission has no much powers, says chairman Justice Prafull Kumar Misra.
In fact he feels following Lokayukta, the Human Rights Commission act needs to be amended, giving more powers.
"Right now it is merely a recommendatory body", states Justice Misra.
However, he plans to approach the high court with a petition, if the government does not recommend its recommendation to take action against civil servant who violate human rights.
The Goa Human Rights Commission chairman Justice Misra took charge on 3rd March 2011.
But a full-fledged office has been provided only after two years and the Commission now functions from the old office of the education department.
But the Commission is still waiting for its main investigative wing of police, headed by the IGP. The office also does not have a trained stenographer.
The Human Rights Commission would basically take up cases against public servants.
The Commission also takes up sue motto cognisance of media reports and investigates.
In fact, besides few cases based on newspaper reports, Justice Misra served notice to Anjuna police station for violating supreme court guidelines and allowing loud music to be played throughout the night.
