When the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) completed its 16th year on Monday, it had many success stories to tell. But the journey has not been without its share of controversies about its role and limited powers as a recommending body.

NHRC officials say they have achieved quite a bit. When it was established, the number of complaints barely exceeded 400. In the past two years, the number has swelled to more than a lakh per year. In fact, this year the number of complaints crossed the 100,000 mark by October, the officials say. Most of the complaints are about police atrocities.

“This shows we are popular, that people are approaching us,” an official said.

Another achievement, according to the officials, is that 18 states have now set up their human rights commissions on the pattern of the NHRC. The NHRC has emphasised the need to set up and strengthen the state rights commissions.

At an event to mark the 16th anniversary on Monday, Acting Chairperson Govind Prasad Mathur said the state rights commissions must be empowered to deal with cases of human rights violations in their jurisdiction.

In his inaugural speech at the event, attended by several experts, former chairperson Justice A S Anand said the NHRC played a positive role in safeguarding the defenders of human rights.

At the day-long session organised by the NHRC to discuss the role and issues facing the rights defenders either in individual capacity or as an organization, many NGOs expressed concerns about the challenges faced by them, including disbursement of funds in case of NGOs active in the Northeast where they are required to get the permission of the district commissioner to get the funds.

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