AIZAWL: The Mizoram government is still in the process of choosing a chairperson and two members for the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) despite issuing an establishment notification about two months ago.
The selection committee has not yet finished its recommendations for the chairman and two SHRC members, a senior home department official revealed on Saturday. Final government clearance will be needed for these suggestions.
Thirteen support staff jobs, two members, and a chairperson are all part of the proposed structure. According to the official, the hiring procedure for these roles is under underway.
After years of delay by the state government, the Gauhati High Court intervened to establish the SHRC. The court gave the Mizoram government a last two-month deadline to form the SHRC on September 6 and threatened to impose penalties in case of non-compliance.
Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Michael Zothankhuma led the division bench throughout the Aizawl proceedings, and they voiced their displeasure with the state's failure to create the commission in spite of repeated promises. They pointed out that real progress was still limited even after the sanctions were lifted.
The issue started in 2021 when the Zofa Welfare Organisation (ZWO), through its president Rev. Robawia, filed a public interest lawsuit (PIL) to establish the SHRC in accordance with the Protection of Human Rights Act of 1993.
In the Dilip Kumar Basu case, the court emphasised the state's failure to act in response to a 2015 Supreme Court order.
The state government stated at a prior hearing that it was making progress on creating 29 SHRC positions, of which 16 had been approved as of August 8, 2024. However, this advancement was deemed insufficient by the court.
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