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New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is independently studying the validity of the death penalty in India, says its chief, Justice (retired) S. Rajendra Babu.
"Even though the government has not sought any suggestions from the NHRC so far, the panel has undertaken research with respect to the UN General Assembly's resolution against capital punishment, in the Indian context," Babu said in an interview.
The UN body had passed a resolution for abolishing the death sentence all over the world, saying "it is not humane at all", he said.
Mercy petition
Babu's statement assumes significance in the light of the mercy petition of parliament attack accused Afzal Guru, which is pending with the president.
On December 13, 2001, five gunmen stormed the heavily guarded parliament complex and killed nine people before being shot dead. Afzal was awarded the death penalty, a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court. However, his hanging scheduled for October 20, 2006, was put off after his wife submitted a mercy petition to then president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Babu, who took over as the fifth chairperson of the NHRC in 2007, said: "The NHRC is studying the issue on its own and will give suggestions to the government if asked for."
He sought to reject recent claims by the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) that the army's human rights record had deteriorated.
"The Indian Army's track record has not deteriorated. There have been calls to scrap the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the northeast states, but the Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the act.
"The armed forces cannot exploit the powers as the Army Act is also in place in these areas. Sometimes some innocent people do get killed in the crossfire between the army and militants. The situation is not as alarming as it is made out to be," he said.
Babu, who retired as chief justice of India on June 1, 2004, condemned as "hopeless" the state of prison affairs in the country and held Bihar jails as the worst in terms of reforms.
"Hopeless! It is bad. Starting from Tihar, all jails in the country are congested. Bihar's jails are the worst. The panel is not satisfied with the prison reforms," he said.
Tihar, one of Asia's largest jails, has the capacity to house 6,250 prisoners, but its actual number of inmates is closer to 12,000.
Babu also expressed concern at the violence perpetrated by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) of Raj Thackeray in Mumbai.
Maharashtra violence
"Article 19 of the Indian Constitution enables any person to move to any place and work. The problem is that locals there have a concept that 'sons of the soil' should get all the benefits. We have intervened in the situation in Maharashtra. But we can do so only to an extent. Migrants should be accepted locally," he said.
The NHRC is studying the issue on its own and will give suggestions to the government if asked for."
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