The Punjab State Human Rights Commission, which receives around 15,000 complaints on human rights violations every year, and hears around 80 complaints daily, is running with only two members (instead of five), comprising a Chairman (Retd Chief Justice R S Mongia) and a non-judicial Member (K K Bhatnagar). The Commission decides on matters like custodial deaths, custodial torture, custodial rape and illegal detention, among others in division benches. In case the Commission decides to make any recommendation to the state government on any matter, it has to constitute a larger bench (of at least three members). One post of a member fell vacant in August 2007, and two more posts fell vacant on May 4, 2008, leaving only two members in the panel. Recently from July 31 to August 15, the working in the panel came to a halt as under the rules, a single member cannot take cognisance of new matters. All new cases had to be adjourned. The petitioner had sought directions to the state government to fill up the vacant posts and the PIL came up for a resumed hearing today. The chief justice repeatedly asked the Additional Advocate General as to what steps had been taken by the Government for filling up the three vacant posts, but the response could not satisfy the Bench. The law officer informed the Bench that the Government has initiated a proposal before the Cabinet for reducing the strength of members from existing five to three. At this, the Chief Justice asked the law officer: “Then why the third post has been kept vacant so far?”The Bench refused to grant one months’ time to the government. “You cannot make these panels non-functional by delaying the filling up of posts,” the Chief Justice said. Taking umbrage at the non-filing of reply in this case by the government, the court passed a detailed order describing the manner in which the present situation arose, and directed the government to file a detailed affidavit within two weeks explaining the steps it has taken since May 4 to fill up the vacant posts, and further directed: “If the needful is not done by the government, then the State’s Home Secretary shall be present in the court on the next date of hearing.” The PIL will come up for resumed hearing on October 24.
