SHC restrains human rights ministry from meddling in NCHR’s affairs

The Sindh High Court on Friday restrained the Ministry of Human Rights from interfering in the affairs of the National Commission for Human Rights until further orders.

The direction came on an application, filed by civil society activist Karamat Ali and others, challenging the ministry’s notification regarding constitution of a committee to probe allegations of violation of the NCHR Act by the human rights body’s chairman.

Petitioners’ counsel, Rasheed A Razvi, said the court had ordered the NCHR to continue functioning in accordance with the relevant laws, including the NCHR Act, 2012.

He argued that the body was constituted under the NCHR Act 2012, adding, that Section 16 of the Act guaranteed the commission’s independence.

The counsel maintained that the commission and all of its members should be allowed to function without political or other bias or interference.

Unless the act expressly provides otherwise, the human rights body should be independent and separate from any government, administration or other body, directly or indirectly representing the interests of any such entity, Razvi further argued. The counsel stated that despite NCHR being an independent body, the human rights ministry issued a notification, on June 1, 2017, whereby a committee, headed by the minister of human rights, was constituted to probe the alleged violations.

He submitted that the impugned notification was illegal as it was issued without any lawful authority and is an act of harassment, committed by the government.

Razvi maintained that only the Supreme Judicial Council was the competent authority to take up such an issue if any reference, contending that issuance of notification by the ministry of human rights was unlawful and liable to be struck down, is filed before it.

He further complained that the ministry was hampering NCHR’s smooth functioning by not releasing its funds and is harassing its members.

SHC’s division bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi directed the ministry of human rights and the NCHR to file their respective comments on the application; in the meantime, the court restrained the ministry from interfering in NCHR’s affairs as provided in Section 16 and other relevant sections of the NCHR Act.

The petitioners had also challenged the ministry’s circular, issued on March 9, whereby the prime minister had approved new functions for the ministry by amending the Rules of Business, which included the administration of the NCHR.

They maintained that the PM could not approve functions allocated to the ministry without the approval of the Cabinet, adding, that the subject was not discussed in the Cabinet.

The commission’s independence was mandated by the constitution as well as the relevant act, but was being denied through amendments in the federal government’s Rules of Business, the petitioners had observed.