At SHRC, over 1,000 cases may remain unsolved

Srinagar, October 24

After the government decided to wind up the eight state commissions in Jammu and Kashmir, at the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) over a 1,000 pending cases are staring at a dead end.

The commission founded in 1997 has instituted 8,529 cases since then. The number of cases disposed of till March 31, 2019 is 7,725 and the number of cases recommended till March 31 is 1,862 and the number of cases pending with the commission are 1,158 which now stare at a dead end as the department is closing by October 31 when the Jammu and Kashmir will officially turn into a Union Territory. The commission for people with limited resources was a big hope.

“Here mostly those people would come who did not have avenues to approach the court. They would not have to hire a lawyer or pay a fee,” said a senior official at the commission.

Nearly, 67 employees of the commission are confused but they have been asked to join their parent departments like Jammu and Kashmir Police Department and Department of Law. However, the employees who were recruited by the SHRC are confused, too.

After the order, the desktops at the office have been covered with polythene covers. The files are being packed in steel trunks that lie on the floor of the rooms that employees are vacating now to be handed over to the government before October 31.

“Everyone is emotional after working for so long here, but we equally feel sad about the people who would approach the commission,” another employee said. — TNS