the goan I network
PANAJI
Two months after its only working member retired district judge AD Salkar completed his term at the Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC), the Commission continues to be at a total standstill, as the government has not yet appointed either a new chairperson to the Commission, or new members.
With no chairperson, and no member, the Commission can only inward complaints about the violation of human rights that it receives, but not register them. The Commission also cannot pass any orders or notices, or hear pending cases.
‘The Goan’ has learnt that the file for the appointments of chairperson and members is in motion, but employees at the Commission are at a loss about when the new officials will take up their new roles.
Records maintained by the Commission reveal that approximately a little over 300 cases are pending at the Commission till July 26, when Salkar’s term ended. Some of these cases date as far back as 2011, when the Commission was constituted.
From its constitution till the end of July this year, the Commission registered approximately a little over 2,000 cases. A little over 1,700 of these have been disposed of, leaving the number of pending cases at around 300.
From January till July this year itself, 196 cases were registered at the Commission. Around 300 cases are registered every year.
The Commission has been without a chairperson since March 2016, when former chief justice of Patna High Court PK Mishra superannuated. One of its members JA Keny expired in September 2018, and the Commission was running with a sole member, Salkar, till his term expired two months ago.
