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PART II—Section 1 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY go 19] «fjf f*?rft, mnm*., ^mxt 2 6, 1 9 0 4 / ^ ^ 1 7, i s i s No. 19] NEW DELHI, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26,1994/PHALGUNA 7.1915 Separate pajjinj; is given to tibis Part ia order that »* may be filed as a separate compilation. [To be published' in the Gazette, Far t II , Section I ] NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION New Delhi, the 17th February. 1994 29 Magha, 1915 Saka NOTIFICATION National Hainan Rights Commission (Procedure) Regulations No. A-H031/1/94-NHKO In exercise of the powers conferred by sub section (2) of Sectioa 10 of the Protection of Human Rights Act .1993 (No. 10 of 1994), fhe Narionai Human Rights Commission hereby makes the following regulations, namtely:— 1 Short title and commencement:
(1) These Regulations may be called the National Human Rights Commission (Procedure) Regulations, 1994.
(2) They shall come into force with effect from the Isi day of March. 2 Definitions: In these Regulations unless the context otherwise requires.—
(8) "Act" means the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
(b) The -Chairperson' ' means the Chairperson of the Commission. rr., ..r> - :...-• „-,-nv,r sJU„ V^.,;nlTil TTtrrn^n 'Rio'Tltc P n m m i s - sion. , % 6 i i l l b Of INDIA EXTRAORDINARY [ p A R T ft—
(d) "Member" means a Member of the Commission and includes the Chairperson. 3 Headquarters of the Commission; : The Headquarters of the. Commission shall be located at Delhi. 4 Venue of the meetings: The Commission shall ordinarily hold its meetings and sittings in its office located at Delhi. However, it may, in its discretion, hold its meetings and sittings at any other place in India if it considers it neces sary and expedient. 5 Periodicity of meetings: The Commission shall normally have iLs regular sittings i s the first and third weeks of every month, excepting holidays. However, the Chairperson by himself or at the instance of one or more of the members may direct a special sitting of LLe Commission to be convened so consider any specific matter of urgency. 6 Secretariat Assistance: The Secretary-General, alcftig with such other officers of the Com mission as may be directed by the Chairperson, or considered necessary, shall at tend the meetings of the Commissioaa. 7 Agenda: T h e Secretary-General shall, in consultation with the Chairperson, prepare the agenda for each meeting of the Commission and shall cause notes thereon t 0 be prepared by the Secretariat. Such notes shall, as far as possible, be self-contained. Specific files covering the agenda items shall be made readily available to the Commission for reference; The agenda papers shall ordinarily be circulated to the Members atleast two clear days in advance of every meeting; but when matters a re set down only for hearing, cause list of the day of sitting shall be prepared and circulated. 8 Procedure for dealing with complaints:
(1) All complaints in whatever form received by the Commission shall be registered and assigned a number and placed for admission before^a_ Bench of two Members constituted for the purpose not ..later than two weeks 'of receipt thereof. Ordinarily complaints of the follow ing nature are not entertainable by the Commission:
(a) in regard to events which happened more than one year be fore the making of complaints;
(b) with regard to matters which are sub judice;
(e) which are vague, anonymous or pseudonymous;
(d) which are of frivolous nature; or (e") those which are outside the purview of the Commission. (2} No fee is chargeable on complaints. '. SEC. 1] THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY 3
(3) Every attempt should be made to disclose a complete picture oi the matter leading to the complaint and the same may be made in English or Hindi to enable the Commission to take immediate action, To facili tate the filing of complaints, the Commission shall, however, entertain complaints in any language included in Eighth Schedule of the Constitu tion. It shall be open to the Commission to ask for further information and affidavits to be filed in support of allegations whenever considered neces sary.
(4) The Commission may, in its discretion, accept telegraphic com plaints and complaints conveyed through Fax .
(5) The Commission shall have power to dismiss a complaint in iimini.
(6) Upon admission, of a complaint, die Chcurpsrson/Cormriission ( shall direct whether the matter would be set down for inquiry by it or f should be investigated into.
(7) On every complaint on which a decision is taken by the Chair- I person-Commission to either hold an inquiry or investigation, the Secre- / tariat shall call for reports/comments from the concerned Government/ I authority giving the lat ter a reasonable time therefor. «|* "
(8) On receipt of the comments of the concerned authority, a de- L tailed note on the merits of the case shall be prepared for consideration J of the Commission.
(9) The directions and recommendations of the Commission shall be communicated to the concerned Government/authority and the peti tioner as provided for in section 18 and 19 of the Act.
(10) The Commission may, in its discretion, afford a personal hearing A to £he petitioner or any other person on his behalf and such other person / or persons as in the opinion of the Commission should be heard for / appropriate disposal of the matter before it and, where necessary, call . ( for records and examine witnesses in connection with it. The Commisr / sion shall afford a reasonable hearing, including opportunity of cross- / examining witnesses, if any, in support of the complaint and leading >f evidence in support of his stand, to a person whose conduct is enquired into by it or where in its opinion the reputation of such person is likely to be prejudicially affected.
(11) Where investigation is undertaken by the. team o£ the Commis sion or by any other person under i ts discretion, the report shal l be submitted within a week of its completion or such farther time as the Commission may allow. The Commission may, in its discretion, direct further investigation in a given case if it is of opinion that investigation has not been proper or the matter requires further investigation for ascertaining the truth or enabling it to properly dispose o ? th» ros te r . On receipt of the report, the Commission on its own motion, or if moved in the matter, may direct inquiry to be carried by it and receive evidence in course of such inquiry, (12} The Commission or any of its Members when requested by the such study is undertaken by one or more Members, a report thereon shall be furnished to the Commission as early as possible; fe'.*^}^^ ^ • •8li • ^ * - . * . T*™ THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY
9. Mi*tfW!es of «fte meetings:
(a) The minutes of each meeting of the Commission shall be record ed during 'he meeting itself or immediately thereafter by the Secretary- General or by any other officer as directed. Such minutes shall be sub mitted to the Chairperson for his approval and, upon approval, be circulated to all the Members of the Commission at the earliest and in any case, sufficiently before the commencement of the uext meeting.
(b) The conclusions of the Commission in every matter under taken by it shall be recorded in the form of an opinion. Dissenting opi nions, if Riven, shall also form part of and be kept on record. Action shall'be taken on the basis of the majority opinion where there be any disference.
(c) Follow-up action: Unless specifically authorised, no action shall be taken by the Sec retariat of the Commission on the. minutes of the meetings until the same are confirmed by the Chairperson. -10. Record of minutes: A master copy of the minutes of every meeting and opinions of the Commission shall be maintained duly authenticated by the Secretary- General and a copy of the minutes pertaining to each item shall be added to the relevant file for apnropriate action. Opinions shall be kept m the respective records and for convenience, copies thereof with appro priate indexing shall be kept in guard flies.
11. Report of Action taken: Report of fAliovv-uo action shall be submitted to the Commission at every subsequent sitfog indicating therein the present stage of action . ea. each item on which the Commission had taken a decision m any of Its earlier meetings, excepting the items on which no further aedon is called for.
12. Transaction oj business outside the Headquarters: The Commission ct some of the Members may transact business at places outside its Headquarters as and when previously approved by the Chairperson provided that if parties are to be' heard in connection with Iny i n q u S under tbe Act at least two Members shall constitute the bench -of the Commission for such purpose.
13. Authentication of orders and decisions: i l l Oders and decisions of the Commission shall be authenticated by the cocretary-General or any officer of the Commission (authorised by the Chairperson)- not below the rank of an Under Secretary.
(2) Conies oi enquiry reports or orders passed finallyf **P°»ng «f matters by the Commission shall be furnished free of cos-. >o the petitioner or his representative. ,i, . , . ;R^J i.,. the Commission as Confi-
(3) Unless any uocunaem is ejutSiwUv-a u^ - l l- <~"-,! dential, copy thereof would be available to the parties in the matter on SEC. 1] THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY the payment 0f a reasonable fee raised to meet the cost. Every effort should be made to provide the copies with utmost e x p e d i t e and in a m case, not later than one week of the date of " reques t ' Y
14. Annual report- 8 9 +:< f The Commission shall furnish its annual report fo r the period commencing from 1st April of the year to 31St March of he s u c c e l d W year to the Central Government and to the State Government* c ^ S r W l S y C h E U r P e r s o " « * Members of the Commission and appro pna te ly preserved and a duly authenticated copy shall be sent to th( appropriate Government by end of May of every year. 15 Sjjecial Reports: The Commission may furnish such Special Reports on specific matters as may he considered necessary in terms of Section 20(1) of the Act.
16. Reports on Complainis and Inquiries: Every report to which Section _18 o r J jL a f the Act applies shall be sent to the concerned Government, authority or person, as the case may be withm one week of compleiion of the proceedings before the Commission and on receipt of the comments of the concerned Gove n - ment or authority, the Commission shall publish the report in the manner provided « Section 18(6) or 19(3) of the Act, as the « s e may be, 3 3 £ one week of the receipt of the appropriate intimation.
17. Printing of the reports: The Secretariat of the Commission shall bo responsible for the print ing of the Annual Report and Special Reports wilh utmost expedition and m any case, not later than one month of realisation of the s&m-.
18. Investigation Team: The Commission shall have its own team of investigation to be headed by a person not below the rank of a Director General of Police appointed by it and such team shall consist of one Deputy Inspector General of Police, 2 Superintendents of Police, 6 Deputy Superintendents of Police and 24 Inspectors of Police and such other categories of officers as the Commissoion from time to time decides. The Commission may in any given case appoint an appropriate number of outsiders to be associated with the investigation either as Investigators or Observers.
19. As and when any matter which is not covered bv these Regula tions arises. it shall be competent for ihe Commission to make appropri ate directions and the Commission may add. delete. arnpHfv n ! amend these Regulations from time to lime. lMUNrrr; ISY niE MA\\-,I I ' . H i - l '••• '-•:•: i. ill. a-i.-MIADEVAN) Deputy Secretary, National Human Rights Commission. Oi :.-.,:. v ,-[«,.,, M:; - ;TO I K , , , , . rfl:».v r>< u n