Memorandum submitted by CSCHR to the Inquiry Commission appointed by Supreme Court
18 Feb 2013 Imphal
A Press Conference of CSCHR has been scheduled at 2PM tomorrow (Thursday, 21 February 2013) at the Imphal Press Club, Major Khul to publicise the Memorandum submitted by CSCHR to the Inquiry Commission appointed by the Supreme Court of India, with CC the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India. The Conference will highlight the serious issues concerning the mode of conduct of this Commission set up for a critical issue in Manipur - fake encounters.
CSCHR, on 18 February 2013, submitted a memorandum to the Commission of Inquiry appointed by the Supreme Court of India on 4 January 2013, with a copy to the Chief Justice of India, Mr Altamas Kabir raising serious issues regarding the modus operandi of the Commission. The Commission was established under a directive on 4 January 2013 (WP [Crl] No.1/2009 and WP [C] No. 445 of 2012) following the recent petition filed by Extrajudicial Execution Victims’ Families’ Association (EEVFAM), a constituent member of CSCHR, which pleaded for an independent probe into more than 1500 cases of extra-judicial killings in Manipur. The three-member Inquiry Commission headed by Retired Supreme Court Justice N Santosh Hegde is to conduct an independent probe into 6 different cases of extra-judicial killings in the state of Manipur, is reported to be coming to Imphal on 1 March 2013. During the visit, N Santosh Hegde would be accompanied by the two other members of the Inquiry Commission namely former Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh and Retired DGP of Karnataka Police Ajay Kumar Singh.
CSCHR raises serious concerns on several counts:
1. The Public Notice inviting sworn affidavits in English, with three extra copies, to be submitted to its office established at New Delhi within 10 days of its publication on 9 February 2013, is totally inadequate and unacceptable, and having no precedence.
2. The Public Notice gives no contact details of this office except a postal address.
3. No office is set up in Manipur where the terms of this Commission are to be met, its business conducted and where the extra-judicial executions took place.
4. The full Terms of Reference of this Inquiry Commission has not been made known to the public.
5. There are no mechanisms established for witness protection or safety. No confidentiality procedures have been established.
www.humanrightsmanipur.wordpress.com
You are cordially invited to attend this Press Conference on time.
Click here to read the memorandum
D Roy Laifungbam
Convenor
On behalf of
CIVIL SOCIETY COALITION ON human rights in Manipur AND THE UN
Imphal 795001
Manipur, india
Email: [email protected]
Visit our Blog site at www.humanrightsmanipur.wordpress.com
* This info was sent by CSCHR Manipur who can be contacted at cschrmanipur(at)gmail(dot)com
This Press Release was posted on February 20, 2013.
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