Human Rights

Radio Headquarters Building, Mahanagar, Lucknow
Ph : (0522)2386233, 2387329.
E-mail : humanrightshq@up.nic.in

Human right cell was created in year June 1996 and senior officer of the rank of DIG was posted as OSD in the year-1997. Latter on this cell continued to function under one officer of IG rank who was designated as IGP(Human Right's).  Govt. of UP created the post of an Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Human Right's on 25.09.97. Now one IGP(Human Right's) and one SP(Human Right's) working under Additional Director General of Police (Human Right's) in this cell. Other supporting staff of SI(M)/Steno's, SI(M)/ASI(M) and some constable clerks are also posted in this cell. ADG (H/R) heads the Human Rights Cell created as part of DGP HQ.

Section-9 of Human Rights Cell, with a section officer of the rank of Inspector(M), looks into all matters referred to DGP UP by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), National/ State commissions on SC/ST, Women, Minorities and Backward Classes, National Safai Karmachari Ayog and now recently National Commission For Protection Of Child Rights also . Section-11 of Human Rights Cell coordinates the replies to questions raised in the Parliament and the U.P. State Assembly and matters related to various committees of the State Assembly. These are- Sansadiya Evam Samajik Sadbhav Samiti; Yachika Samiti; Vidhan Sabha Ashwasan Samiti; ; Vidhan Parishad Ashwasan Samiti; Visheshadhikar Samiti and Vittiya Evam Prashasanik Vilamb Samiti. The complaints referred to/ received by DGP are coordinated and correlated. Complaints of serious nature are also enquired into directly. In important matters fact finding enquiries are also conducted by officers of this cell.

The sensitization of Police at Police Station about Human Rights is generally questioned. Therefore, with a view to sensitize the UP Police about human rights, the training syllabus of various ranks has been revised and relevant human rights subjects have been included in various police training institutes. Recently, efforts are being made by the Human Rights Cell to organize the Human Rights Sensitization Training Programs in all districts of U.P.. In these training programs, Police personnels, officers of district administration; eminent personalities from among the public, social activists and media are also invited to participate and interact. Seminars/ workshops etc. are also being organized periodically. In this series, one day workshop has recently been organized by the Human Rights Cell on 18.12.2008 with the help of NHRC.

Now, all the police stations in U.P. display the rights of persons under police custody. There is continuous decline in total no. of complaints to NHRC from UP. Deaths in judicial custody are not under police purview as is usually understood.

EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA

The Constitution of India which came into effect in 1950, incorporated "Fundamental Rights" of the citizens.

 In India, the protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 defines Human Rights as the rights relating to liberty, equality, and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Indian Constitution as embodied in the Fundamental Rights and the International Covenants'. 

2. The Scope of the concept of Human Rights is expanding day by day. Human rights fall under the following broad categories: -

a)  Civil and Political Rights,

b) Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

Persons, who are arrested, have certain rights - both at the time of arrest and immediately thereafter which are inherent in Articles 21 and 22(1) of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has observed in several decisions that these rights are to be recognised and scrupulously protected.    These rights are:-

v     Police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations.  The particulars of all such police personnel who handle interrogation of the arrestee must be recorded in a register.

v     That the police officer carrying out the arrest shall prepare a memo of arrest at the time of arrest and such memo shall be attested by at least one witness, who may either be a member of the family of the arrestee or a respectable person of the locality from where the arrest is made.  It shall also be countersigned by the arrestee and shall contain the time and date of arrest.

v     A person who has been arrested or detained and is being held in custody in a police station or interrogation centre or other lock-up, shall be entitled to have one friend or relative or other person known to him or having interest in his welfare being informed, as soon as practicable, that he has been arrested and is being detained at the particular place, unless the attesting witness of the memo of arrest is himself such a friend or a relative of the arrestee.

v     The time, place of arrest and venue of custody of an arrestee must be notified by the police where the next friend or relative of the arrestee lives outside the district or town through the Legal Aid Organisation in the District and the police station of the area concerned telegraphically within a period of 8  to 12 hours after the arrest.

v     The person arrested must be made aware of his right to have someone informed of his arrest or detention as soon as he is put under arrest or is detained.

v     As entry must be made in the diary at the place of detention regarding the arrest of the person which shall also disclose the name of the next friend of the person who has been informed of the arrest and the names and particulars of the police officials in whose custody the arrestee is.

v     The arrestee should, where he so requests, be also examined at the time of his arrest and major and minor injuries, if any present of his/her body, must be recorded at that time.  The "Inspection Memo" must be signed both by the arrestee and the police officer effecting the arrest and its copy provided to the arrestee.

v     The arrestee should be subjected to medical examination by a trained doctor every 48 hours during his detention in custody by a doctor on the panel of approved doctors appointed by Director, Health Services should prepare such a panel for all Tahsils and districts as well.

v     Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest, referred to above, should be sent to the jurisdictional Magistrate for his record.

v     The arrestee may be permitted to meet his lawyer during interrogation, though not throughout the interrogation.

v     A police control room should be provided at all district and State headquarters, where information regarding the arrest and the place of custody of the arrestee shall be communicated by the officer causing the arrest, within 12 hours of effecting the arrest and the police control room it should be displayed on a conspicuous notice board.