This article is written by Shivani Verma, a student of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. In this article, she has discussed and covered various important aspects of the National Human Rights Commission.

Concept of human rights

Throughout human history, human rights as a concept is constantly evolving. These rights are associated with the laws, customs and religion from a long time. People’s duties, rights and responsibilities are addressed in five oldest written sources which are the Hindu Vedas, the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, the Bible, the Quran and the Analects of Confucius. These rights are provided in different ways in different countries. In India, these rights are incorporated in the Constitution whereas in the UK these rights are provided through precedents. 

Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to everywhere. Human rights also put the responsibility on the person to not to violate another person’s human rights. Human rights are of various types such as economic rights, social and civil rights, political and cultural rights. For the protection and implementation of human rights, not much codification was done prior to the second world war.

Development of human rights

Developments in religious, cultural, philosophical and legal areas lead to the development of human rights. Several ancient documents include the concept of human rights. Ashoka the Great issues a document between 272-231 BC known as the Edicts of Ashoka and another document was drafted by Muhammad which is known as the Constitution of Medina of 622 AD.

However, human rights became a universal phenomenon as it gained importance since World War II because millions of people lost their lives. Seeing this sad state of affairs the United Nations took a pledge to provide a measure for the fundamental freedom to all and universal respect to all the people and to their rights. For this, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948. It was seen as a positive sign towards the promotion and protection of human rights.

Human rights are the rights related to life, liberty, equality, and dignity of the individual defined in Section 2(d) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1933. These rights are guaranteed by the Constitution of India and are incorporated in the International Covenants such as right to life, freedom of speech, right to religion as well as right to voting. and are enforceable by the Indian Courts. 

Established on October 12, 1933, the National Human Rights Commission aims to protect and promote human rights. The Protection of Human Rights Act,1933 contains a statue which is in accordance with the Paris Principles that were adopted at an international workshop on national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights which was held in Paris on October 1991. It was endorsed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its Resolution 48/134 of December 20, 1933. The National Human Rights Commission incorporates India’s concern for the promotion and protection of human rights. 

A set of internationally recognized standards are provided in the Paris Principles evaluate the independence, credibility and effectiveness of the National Human Rights Institutions. In order to be fully effective, the National Human Rights Institutions should have an official order to deal with all types of human rights. They should have a proper and transparent selection process. The National Human Rights Institutions must have sufficient access to resources and the institution should be independent in law as well as practice.

Philosophy of Human Rights

The philosophy of human rights provides the basis for the concept of human rights. Several approaches are developed to explain the reason for the concept of human rights.

The oldest Western philosophies define humans rights as a product of natural law that is originated from different philosophical or religious grounds. Other theories provided a separate view that human rights codify moral behaviour as a human being is a social product that is developed by a biological process and social evolution. According to the sociological theory of law and Weber, the sociological pattern of rule setting is described as human rights because individuals in a society accept rules from a concerned authority in exchange for economic advantage and security.

Contemporary human rights are dominated by Interest theory and the Will theory. These theories hold a different view. Interest theory provides that the main function of human rights is to protect and promote essential human interest whereas the will theory focuses on establishing the validity of human rights on the unique human capacity for freedom. 

Type of Human Rights

Human Rights are the rights which each and every person is entitled to without any discrimination on the basis of colour, caste, sex, religion. Human rights are interrelated, indivisible and interdependent. Human rights are of several types. 

Social and Civil Human Rights

These rights are:

1. The freedom to live.
2. There should be  security of the people.
3. There should be freedom from slavery and servitude and bondage labour.
4. Right to have a property.
5. Right to have a family.
6. There should be right to privacy as well as freedom from torture. 

Economic Rights

These include:

1. Right to have an adequate standard of living.
2. There should be social security.
3. A person must have Right to work.
4. A person must have the privilege of Right to equal pay for equal work. 
5. Freedom to form trade unions whenever needed.
6. Right to have rest and leisure. 
7. Right to food and health. 
8. One can have a satisfactory way of life.

Political Rights

These rights protect an individual from the infringement of his/her human rights by the government. These rights are:

1. One should have opportunities for development.
2. There should be equal access to public services.
3. One can take part in government undertakings under this right.
4. Right to take part in political processes. 
5. One has a right to equal suffrage i.e. right to vote.
6. Right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law.
7. Right to judicial remedies and trails that are reasonable.
8. There should be freedom from confinement.
9. There should be freedom of religion.
10. Right to have a nationality.

Cultural Human Rights

These rights are:

1. A person has a right to take part in the cultural life of the community.
2. He/she has a right to take an interest in society. 
3. One has a right to appreciate art and take part in scientific advancement as well as its advantages.
4. A person has a right to take part in the social as well as the worldwide order in which the human rights that are given in the Universal Declaration can be figured out.

National Human Rights Commission 

The National Human Rights Commission was established through an Act of Parliament in the year 1992 by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 for protection and promotion of Human Rights in India. This is the most important development in India. This development is the result of an ordinance that was promulgated by the President.

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The Chief Minister’s Conference was summoned by the then Prime Minister R.Venkatraman in 1992 in order to develop the modalities of setting up the Human Rights Commissions. Various State Human Rights Commissions have also been set up by different State Governments within their states. 

Functions of the National Human Right Commission 

The functions of the National Human Rights Commission are as follows:

1. Conduct inquiries on its own or on the complaint received from the victim or some other person on behalf of the victim. 
2. The National Human Rights Commission can intervene in the proceedings of the courts which involves any type of allegation regarding violation of human rights, such intervention will be done after prior approval of the court. 
3. Conduct research to study the living conditions of the inmates in prison and other detention places and make suggestions to the concerned authority for the improvement. 
4. Reviews the factors which hinder human rights.
5. It studies international instruments regarding human rights and gives suggestions to the concerned authority for their implementation.
6. Educate the people regarding human rights available to them and steps they can take to protect their human rights by organizing seminars, workshops etc. 
7. For the promotion of Human rights, the National Commission for Human Rights can perform any other function that is considered important.

Composition of the National Human Rights Commission

Section 3 of Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 talks about the composition of the commission.  

The National Human Rights Commission comprises of a Chairperson. The Chairperson should be a retired Chief Justice of India. 

There are four other members. These are:

• There should be one Member who is, or has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court.
• There should be one Member who is, or has been, the Chief Justice of the High Court. 
• Two other members should be there who have the knowledge or practical experience in matters related to human rights.   

The ex officio members of the Commission can be:

• The Chairpersons of the National Commission for Minorities, 
• The Chairpersons of the National Commission for  Women, 
• The Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and 
• The Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribe. 

NHRC Chairman

Presently Justice H.L. Dattu is the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. The Former chairpersons were as follows:

Name	Tenure
Justice Ranganath Mishra	26 October 1993 to 24 November 1996
Justice M N Venkatachaliah	26 November 1996 to 24 October   1999
Justice J S Verma	4 November to 17 January 2003
Justice A S Anand	17 February 2003 to 31 October 2006
Justice S. Rajendra Babu	2 April 2007 to 31 May 2009
Justice K.G. Balakrishnan	7 June 2010 to 11 May 2015
Justice H.L. Dattu	29 February 2016 to present

Acting chairpersons 

Following are the former acting chairperson of theNational Human Rights Commission:

Sr. No.	Name	Tenure
1.	Dr Justice Shivaraj Patil	1 November 2006 – 1 April 2007
2.	Justice G.P. Mathur	1 June 2009 – 6 June 2010
3.	Justice Cyriac Joseph	11 May 2015 – 28 February 2016

Appointment of the members 

Section 4 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 provides for the appointment of the members of the commission. 

On the recommendation of a committee, the President of India appoints the chairperson and the members of the National Human Rights Commission. The committee consists of the following members:

1. Prime Minister of India [CHAIRPERSON] 
2. Home Minister of India 
3. Speaker of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition [Lok Sabha] 
4. Leader of Opposition [Rajya Sabha]
5. Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha 

After consulting the Chief Justice of India, the appointment of the present Judge of the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice of the High Court is done. 

Removal of Chairperson and Members 

Section 5 of Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 provides for resignation and removal of chairperson and other members. 

Resignation 

The chairperson or other members may in writing submit his/her resignation to the President of India.

Removal

The chairperson or other members can be removed from the office on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity by the President of India but before doing so, the President is required to refer the matter to the Supreme Court, which will hold an enquiry into the matter. On the basis of the reply of the Supreme Court, the President is required to take the decision. 

There are five grounds provided on which President may remove the Chairperson or any other member from his office. These are:

1. If that person has been declared as insolvent,
2. If that person engages during his term of office in any other paid employment outside the duties of his office, 
3. If that person is unfit to continue because of the infirmity of the mind or body,
4. If that person is of unsound mind as declared by a competent Court, 
5. If that person has been declared as guilty of criminal offence and is sentenced to imprisonment and if in the opinion of the President it involves moral turpitude. 

Term of office of Chairperson and members 

The term of the office of Chairperson and members of the National Human Rights Commission is provided under Section 6 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1933.

1. For a period of 5 five years or until the Chairperson reaches 70 years of age, whichever is earlier the Chairperson can hold the office. 
2. For a period of 5 years, the members that are appointed can hold the office. These members are also eligible for re-appointment for another term provided, that member should cease to hold the office after attainment of 70 years of age.

Under the Government of India or the State Government, the person who holds the office of the Chairperson or a member will not be eligible for further employment.  

Member holding office of Chairperson 

Section 7 of Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 provides the situations under which members can hold the office of the Chairperson.

1. The President of India can authorise one of the members to act as a Chairperson until a new Chairperson is appointed through a notification.
2. When the office of the Chairperson gets vacant by reason of Chairperson’s death, resignation or otherwise, then a member can hold the office of the Chairperson.
3. When the functions of the Chairperson are not being performed due to his absence on leave or because of another reason.

State Human Rights Commission

In order to exercise the powers or to perform functions that are assigned to the State Commission, the State Government may constitute a body known as the Human Rights Commission of that state.

Presently, 25 states have formed the State Human Rights Commission.

State Human Rights Commission	The date on which these Commissions were constituted	City in which these Commissions are located	Chairman of the State Human Rights Commission
Assam Human Rights Commission	19 January 1996	Guwahati	Mr Justice T. Vaiphei
Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Commission	2 August 2006	Hyderabad	Vacant
Bihar human rights commission	3 January 2000	Patna	Acting Chairperson cum Member – Shri Ujjwal Kumar Dubey
Chhattisgarh State Human Rights Commission	16 April 2001	Raipur	Vacant
Gujarat State Human Rights Commission	12 September 2006	Gandhinagar	Vacant
Goa Human Rights Commission	2011	Panaji	Acting Chairperson – Shri Anand D. Salkar
Himachal Pradesh State Human Rights Commission	—-	Shimla	Vacant
Haryana Human Rights Commission	2012	Chandigarh	Hon’ble Mr Justice Satish Kumar Mittal
Jharkhand State Human Rights Commission	2010	Ranchi	Acting Chairperson – Santosh Kumar Satpathy
Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission	January 1997	Srinagar	Mr Justice Bilal Nazki
Kerala State Human Rights Commission	11 December 1998	Thiruvananthapuram	Acting Chairperson cum Member – Shri P. Mohana das Would be appointed as chairman –  Justice Antony Dominic
Karnataka State Human Rights Commission	28 June 2005	Banglore	Justice Dhirendra H Waghela
Meghalaya State Human Rights Commission	2013	Shillong	Vacant
Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission	1 September 1995	Bhopal	Acting Chairperson – Shri Manohar Mamtani
Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission	6 march 2001	Mumbai	Acting Chairperson – Shri Peter James Pyngrope Hanaman
Manipur State Human Rights Commission	2003	Imphal	Vacant
Odisha Human Rights Commission	27 January 2007	Bhubaneshwar	Vacant
Punjab Human Rights Commission	1997	Chandigarh	Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari
Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission	18 January 1999	Jaipur	Justice Shri Prakash Tatia
Sikkim State Human Rights Commission	18 October 2008	Gangtok	Hon’ble Mr. Justice Narendra Kumar Jain
State Human Rights Commission Tamil Nadu	17 April 1997	Chennai	Tmt. Justice T. Meenakumari
Tripura Human Rights Commission	2015	Agartala	Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta
Uttar Pradesh Human Rights Commission	7 October 2002	Lucknow	Mr Justice S. Rafat Alam
Uttarakhand Human Rights Commission	13 May 2013	Dehradun	Justice Shri Jagdish Bhalla
West Bengal Human Rights Commission	8 January 1994	Kolkata	Justice Shri Girish Chandra Gupta

Composition of the State Human Rights Commission

State Human Rights Commission consists of three members including a Chairperson according to the Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2006. Retired Chief Justice of the High Court can be the Chairperson of the commission.

The other members include:

1. A present Judge of the High Court or the District Court can be a member of the commission. The person should have a minimum experience of seven years as a District Judge.
2. A person who has practical experience as well as knowledge related to the issues of human rights.

The Governor on the recommendation of the committee appoints the Chairperson and other members. If the state has a Legislative Council then the Chairman and the leader of the opposition of Legislative Council will also be the members of the committee.

The committee consists of:

1. Head – Chief Minister.
2. Legislative Assembly speaker.
3. The Home Minister of the State.
4. Form the Legislative Assembly, leader of the opposition.

State Human Rights Commission Functions

The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1933 provides the functions of the State Human Rights Commission. The functions are as follows:

1. Conduct inquiries on its own or on the complaint received from the victim or some other person on behalf of the victim. 
2. The State Human Rights Commission can intervene in the proceedings of the courts which involves any type of allegation regarding violation of human rights, such intervention will be done after prior approval of the court. 
3. It visits jails and several other institutions where persons are detained. These institutions should be under the control of the State Government. They visit to study the living conditions of the inmates and they provide recommendations thereon.
4. Recommend measures for effective implementation of the safeguards provided in the Constitution.
5. Provide encouragement to non-governmental organization works in the field of human rights.

First State Human Rights Commission in India

West Bengal was the first state to establish the State Human Rights Commission in India. It was established on 31st January 1995. Uttarakhand is the last State which established the State Human Rights Commission in India.

International Human Rights Commission

The International Human Rights Commission [IHRC] is also a non-profitable organization. On 24th December 2003, International Executive Committee [IEC] of IHRC was established in Geneva, Switzerland which is the headquarters of the United Nations [UN].

Each country who is a member of the United Nations will be a member of IHRC. IEC was established with members from 24 countries of Asia, Europe, Africa. IHRC was established with a view of mobilizing public opinion for peace. It was also established for materializing the UN Charter of human rights in order to make the UN a neutral and rights organization.

UN Human Rights Commission Chairman

Chairman of the UN rights commission is known as the High Commissioner. So the office is headed by him/her. The High Commissioner coordinates human rights activities all over the UN System and also acts as the secretariat of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Name	Country	Term
Jose Ayala Lasso	Ecuador	1994 – 1997
Marry Robinson	Ireland	1997 – 2002
Sergio Vieira de Mello	Brazil	2002 – 2003
Louise Arbour	Canada	2004 – 2008
Navanethem Pillay	South Africa	1 September 2008 – 31 August 2014
Zeid Raad Al Hussein	Jordan	1 September 2014 – 31 August 2018
Michelle Bachelet	Chile	1 September 2018 – 31 August 2022

International human rights commission jobs 

The IHRC provides jobs opportunities in the cities such as Melbourne, Toronto, Berlin, London. It also provides job opportunities in countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, UK, South Africa. On July 17, 2019, there were two vacancies for Human Rights Officer. There was a vacancy in IHRC for the post of Representative, Human Rights and Head of Witness Support and Protection Unit.

International Human Rights Organization 

International Human Rights Organization [IHRO] is an NGO which contains approximately 5,000-10,000 staff members. Its headquarters is in India and it was founded in 2009. IHRO believes in the philosophy that “The World Is One Family”. They focus on creating the world a better place through their comprehensive projects. It is a leading worldwide organization which acts on human rights issues of the citizens. Not only India but also in abroad they aim to protect, restore and endorse human rights.

They focus on providing benefits to the underprivileged and provide them with their vital human rights in the areas of health, education, sustainability, art, culture through international and national initiatives. They take inspiration from the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. In their view, long term solutions will be fostered only when human rights are viewed under the scanner of sustainability.

While they continue to expand their outreach, they are touching the lives of over 6,00,000 people. It not only works for its people but also works globally with many partners in different countries simultaneously.

Role of UN in Protecting Human Rights 

There are two main types of bodies that promote and protect human rights in the United Nations system. These two bodies are:

1. Charter bodies
2. Treaty bodies

Charter Bodies

To fulfil UNs general purpose of promoting human rights Charter Bodies are established under the UN Charter. In order to promote human rights in all UN member states, the charter bodies contain broad instructions on this. The Human Rights Council is the principal UN Charter Body responsible for the protection of human rights. The Human Rights Council was established in 2006 by the General Assembly with the hope that it would result in more effective as well as an efficient way in promoting and protecting human rights than its predecessor which was the Human Rights Commission.

Treaty Bodies

Treaty Bodies are only concerned with the countries which are a party to that treaty. So, they are responsible for monitoring as well as promoting a particular human rights treaty. In order to supervise the implementation of the treaty obligation by the State parties, many human rights treaties established the treaty monitoring bodies. Treaty Bodies ensure that periodic reports are submitted to them by the State Parties about what measures they have taken in order to carry out their obligations. Some of the committees are as follows:

1. State parties compliance with ICERD and ICCPR is monitored by the Human Rights Committee.
2. State parties compliance with ICESCR is monitored by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
3. State parties compliance with CAT is monitored by the Committee against Torture etc.

IHRC Logo

International Human Rights Protection Council 

The International Human Rights Protection Council [IHRPC] has laid down several guidelines for the welfare of the people. The basis of these guidelines is our Indian Constitution. The council is continuously making efforts for living in the society of India as well as the globe a mesmerising experience.  According to the Council, in order to provide meaning to the social, economical, political freedoms there should be the protection of human rights. 

IHRPC brings awareness among the people that irrespective of the colour, caste, sex, religion or dialect all the persons must be treated equally and their rights should be protected. IHRPC also organizes various seminars on creating awareness among the peoples related to cancer, AIDS, de-addiction camps etc. It also organises various camps on these mentioned issues. 

It wishes to create an atmosphere full of peace and humanity by protecting the rights of the individual. It also brings awareness among educated people through various cultural. It also promotes education by setting up a various educational institution.  

National Human Rights Commission Office Address

The address of the Nation Human Rights Commission office is:

NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

Manav Adhikar Bhawan, C Block, GPO Complex

INA, New Delhi-110023

National Human Rights Commission Act

The National Human Rights Commission was established on 12 October 1993. It was established under the Protection of the Human Rights Commission Act, 1993. 

Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993

This was an Act that provided for the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission, State Human Rights Commission in States and Human Rights Courts so that there could be better protection of human rights.

Chapter 1 contains Section 1 and 2 which states short title, its commencement and definitions respectively.

Chapter 2 is concerned with the National Human Rights Commission. The sections under it are as follows:

• Section 3 provides for the constitution of a National Human Rights Commission
• Section 4 states the procedure for appointment of the chairperson and other members.
• Section 5 provides for the resignation and removal of Chairperson and members.
• Section 6 provides for the term of chairperson and members.
• Section 7 states that when can a member act as a chairperson.
• Section 8 provides terms and conditions for the chairperson.
• Section 9 provides that the vacancies cannot invalidate the proceedings of the Commission.
• Section 10 provides the procedure to be regulated by the commission.
• Section 11 is regarding officers and other staff of the Commission.

Chapter 3 of this Act states the functions and powers of the commission which are provided under Sections 12-16 of this Act. 

Chapter 4 of this Act is concerned with the procedures that are provided from Section-17 to Section 20.

Chapter 5 contains Section 21-Section 29 which is concerned with the State Human Rights Commission. 

Chapter 6 is concerned with the Human Rights Court under Section 30 and about the Special Public Prosecutor under Section 31.

Chapter 7 includes Section 32-35 which is concerned with the finance, accounts and audit of the commission.

Chapter 8 contains Section 36-Section 43 which is concerned with miscellaneous like the matters that are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission or constitution of investigation teams etc.

Working of National Human Rights Commission

The National Human Rights Commission is a statutory body which has the power to regulate its own procedure. It has the same power as of the Civil Court and proceeding done by it is of judicial nature. It has the power to ask for information or reports from the government. It has its own team headed by Director General of Police to investigate a matter relating to the human rights violation. It can also use the services of the investigation agency of the Union Government or any State Government. 

NHRC Complaint

A person whose human rights are violated can file a complaint in the National Human Rights Commission. Following are the steps followed by the Commission: 

Inquiry into complaints

After receiving the complaint, the commission may call for information from Union Government or the concerned State Government or any other authority which has to reply within a specific period of time and if the report is not received within the specific period of time, the commission may proceed with the inquiry on its own.

If the commission is satisfied that no further inquiry is required or it feels required action has been taken by the concerned authority, the commission may not go forward with the complaint and inform the complainant accordingly. 

Steps after inquiry

 At the completion of an inquiry, the commission can take the following steps:

1. It can recommend the concerned government or the authority to give compensation to the victims
2. It can suggest the concerned government or authority initiate a proceeding for the prosecution or any action against the guilty public servant. 
3. It may recommend the concerned government or authority to grant immediate interim relief to the victim. 
4. The Supreme Court or the High Court can also be approached by the commission for the necessary directions, orders or writs.

Special Procedure in case of the Armed Forces 

In case the violation of human rights is done by the members of the armed forces then the procedure mentioned in Section 19 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1933 will be followed

The Commission shall adopt the following procedure:

1. The Commission on its own or after receiving the complaint, seek a report from the Union Government. 
2. The Commission will either not proceed with a complaint or it will make suggestions to the government after receiving the report from the Union Government.
3. The Union government is required to inform the commission within 3 months or as the period in which, the commission may allow the action it has taken.
4. The Commission is required to publish its report together with recommendations made to the Government and the action taken by the Government. 
5. A copy of the report published must be given to the complainer.

Human Rights Commission Complaint

Following are the points that are to be kept in mind while filing a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission.

Who can file a complaint? 

Complaints can be filed by the victim by himself/herself or on his behalf by someone else. 

On what grounds can a complaint be filed? 

Complain can be filled on two grounds:

1.  Violation of any human rights, or
2. There is negligence on the part of police servant in preventing the violation of human rights. 

Language of the complaint 

According to the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India, complaints can be filed in English, Hindi, Bengali, Gujrati or any other language as mentioned in the schedule.

Is there any time frame in which a complaint can be filled? 

In order to seek remedy against the violation of human rights, the complaint has to be filed within a time span of one year from the date on which the violation of human rights occurred. 

What is the fee for filing a complaint?     

No fee is charged for filing the complaint in the National Human Rights Commission.

By which mode the complaint can be sent?

Complain can be sent in the following ways: 

On the office address

By posting it on this address of the National Human Rights Commission that is :

National Human Rights Commission

Manav Adhikar Bhawan Block-C

GPO Complex, INA, New Delhi – 110023 

Through Fax

A complaint can be filed by faxing it to the office. The fax number is:

(011) 23386521

Through Email

A complaint can be filed by emailing it to [email protected]

On-Call 

A complaint can be filed by calling on – 91 9810298900

What must the complaint contain

The complaint must provide a clear picture of the matter. Each and everything should be mentioned in the complaint. The documents that are also enclosed in the complaint should be easy to read. The complaint must contain the following:

The complainant should fill in the following details:

1. Name of the complainant. 
2. Sex of the complainant. 
3. Address of the complainant. 
4. State of the complainant. 
5. District of the complainant. 
6. Pin code of his/her locality, email address and mobile number of the complainant. 

Following are the details of the victim that the complainant has to provide while filing a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission :

1. Name of the victim. 
2. Address of the victim. 
3. State of the victim. 
4. District of the victim. 
5. Sex of the victim. 
6. Pin code, if available.
7. Disability of the victim. 
8. Age of the victim. 
9. The religion of the victim. 
10. Caste of the victim. 

The complaint also contains the details of the incident such as:

1. Place of the incident. 
2. State where the incident happened.
3. District where the incident happened.
4. Date of the incident. 
5. Category of the incident.
6. Subcategory of the incident.
7. A brief summary of the complaint.
8. One has to mention in the complaint whether this complaint has been filed before any court or commission.

The column is for relief details which include:

1. Name, designation and address of the public servant against whom the complaint is being made and,
2. Full details of the relief that one wants should be mentioned.

NHRC online complaint

Human Rights Complaint procedure

How to file an online complaint?

 A complaint can be filed online by following these steps:

STEP 1: Click on this link www.hrcnet.nic.in/HRCNet/public/webcomplaint.aspx

STEP 2: Fill the mandatory fields and then click on “ Next”. On your mobile number that you have mentioned an OTP will be sent

STEP 3: Enter OTP and click Validate OTP Button.

STEP 4: After validation of OTP click next or if OTP is not validated then click the Resend Button to request OTP once again.

STEP 5: After the validation of OTP, the complainant needs to fill Incident details and Victim details. In victim details, the complainant has an option to select ‘NO’ if he/she doesn’t want to show the details of the victim. Similarly, the complainant can select ‘NO” if he/she doesn’t want to show his/her details. 

STEP 6: Fill in the incident details

STEP 7:   Complainant has to fill in relief details

STEP 8: After this, the last step is to save and submit the form then the complaint will be submitted online.

Human rights complaint number

The helpline number of the National Human Rights Commission is known as MADAD.

For Complaints status, General queries:-

Phone No.: 91-11-24651330, 91-11-24663333

Email id (for Complaints only): [email protected]

For lodge complaint/ track status: click on nhrc.nic.in/lodge-complaint-track-status

Focal points for human rights defenders: +919810298900

Fax Numbers: Law Division(for complaints- filing): 91-11-24651332

Administration Division: 91-11-24651329

Investigation Division: 91-11-24663304 (Group I), 91-11-2466312 (Group II)

NHRC TOLL-FREE HELPLINE NUMBER – 14433

Human rights email

A person can email on the following address:

[email protected] (general)

[email protected] (for complaints)

NHRC Internship

NHRC provides for summer as well as winter internship programmes since 1998 and 2000, respectively, in order to spread awareness among the students of the University about the importance and need for protecting and promoting Human Rights. The duration of the summer internship is from May to June. 

Eligibility criteria for the internship

The National Human Rights Commission follow certain eligibility criteria in order to select candidates for the internship. Following is the eligibility criteria:

1. Students who are in the 3rd year while pursuing a 3 years L.L.B. Course and students who have completed their 3 years in a 5 years B.A. LL.B. programme can apply for the same.
2. Students who are pursuing the L.L.M. Course can also apply.
3. Students who are pursuing an MA in Human Rights, Political Science, Sociology, Social Work (MSW), Criminology, Public Administration, Rural Development or any of the discipline of Social Sciences would be considered and preference would be given to those who are pursuing their final year.
4. Students with regular courses of UGC from recognized Universities will be considered.
5. A minimum of 65% marks should be there in Class XII.
6. The application will be rejected if the attested photocopies of the mark-sheets for each year and semester are not submitted.
7. Efforts will be made to select students from all the categories.
8. Students who are applying have to submit a 500 word write up along with the application as it will also serve as a basis of selection on the topic “Reasons for joining as an intern in NHRC”.
9. Students who have already done an internship in NHRC will not be considered.
10. Students will be selected on a merit basis. Marks will be calculated out of 100. These marks will include:

• Class XII@ 30 marks,
• Graduation @ 30 marks,
• Write up of 500 words @ 40 marks.

Vacancies 

A different number of vacancies are available during summer/ winter internship. The Commission decides the number of vacancies which shall be made available for the internship programme.

Stipend and Award

If interns are selected from outside Delhi then they will be given Rs. 8000/- as stipend and second class train fare from New-Delhi to back their workplace and if the students are from Delhi then they will receive Rs. 4000/- as a stipend. In the order of merit, students who secured I, II, III position will be given Rs. 15000/- as an award.

NHRC Recruitment

In 2019 there were 12 vacancies available in the National Human Rights Commission in the month of June. The vacancies were for a Librarian, Assistant Director, Research Officer, Research Assistant, Assistant Register and for other posts. The mode of application was offline that is interested candidates have to apply either by post or through the hand. The last date to fill the application form was 10.07.2019. The candidates should not be more than 40 years of age. The candidates will be selected on the basis of job skills and interview. The job location will be Delhi.

Qualification of the Candidates

From any recognized university/ institution candidates must have completed Degree/ Master’s Degree/ M.Phil.

Details of the Vacancies 

Name of the Post	Administration Division	Law Division	Research Division	Total
Number of Vacancies	04	01	07	12

Full notification regarding the vacancies can be read by clicking on the following links:

1. For notification, candidates must click on http://www.davp.nic.in/WriteReadData/ADS/eng_53101_2_1920b.pdf
2. For the official website, candidates must click on http://nhrc.nic.in/

NHRC Cases status

The National Human Rights Commission is running successfully as it received 4997 fresh complaints in June 2019, the Commission disposed of a total number of  5347 cases and has 19550 cases under consideration.

Problems faced by NHRC 

At present, NHRC is dependent on the government for two of the most important requirements ie., money and human resources. The NHRC also has very little power to act against authority because of which the commission is not able to follow its own guidelines. It can only make recommendations and do nothing else. The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 does not categorically empower the NHRC to act against private parties in the case of human rights violation. Scarcity of resources, especially manpower shortage hampers the working of commission. 

Conclusion

For the protection of human rights, the National Human Rights Commission has clearly shown its willingness by extending its help to all the sections of the society. People are trusting this Commission more and more for enforcement of their human rights. It has been 25 years since the establishment of the NHRC but various issues relating to the functioning and effectiveness of the NHRC still remains unanswered. The credibility and legitimacy of the commission are at stake. There is a strong need to increase the authority and power of the Commission.