HHRC disposes of over 3K cases in 6 months after reconstitution
According to Dr. Puneet Arora, protocol and information officer of HHRC, the commission prioritised timely disposal of both new and pending cases. At the time of reconstitution, 3,171 cases were pending. Between November 27 and May 31, HHRC received 1,438 new complaints, taking the total caseload to 4,609. Of these, 3,086 cases were disposed of, including 56 that had been pending for over two years.
According to HHRC officials, the cases resolved span a wide spectrum, but the majority pertain to complaints against police functioning. These are followed by grievances involving municipal bodies, the power department, and the Haryana Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board. Other commonly addressed issues relate to the departments of health and education.
In the current financial year (2024–25), HHRC received 2,442 complaints. Gurugram had the highest number (320), followed by Faridabad (258), with significant numbers from Hisar, Karnal and Panchkula. Out of these, 836 cases were disposed of, while 1,606 are still under review. Dr. Arora said the data reflects increasing public trust in the Commission's functioning.
To be sure, the Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) was reconstituted on November 27, 2024—14 months after it was rendered non-functional. The delay followed the completion of the previous commission's term in September 2023. The reappointment process was held up twice due to the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct—first during the General Elections and later ahead of the State Assembly polls. The selection panel could reconvene only after the elections concluded, paving the way for the commission's reconstitution.
Justice Batra recently presented a paper on 'Rights of Women Prisoners' at a national human rights conference in Gaya, Bihar, organized by Bihar Institute of Public Administration & Rural Development (BIPARD). He outlined steps being taken in Haryana to improve prison conditions, such as separate housing for women, crèche facilities, free sanitary products, vocational training, video conferencing with families, legal aid, and support for pregnant and lactating inmates.
The Commission has also been inspecting old age homes and orphanages. During a visit to Tau Devi Lal Old Age Home in Gurugram, Justice Batra directed that eligible women residents be linked with government welfare schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Old Age Pension, and Disability Pension. At Swami Shraddhanand Orphanage in Karnal, he interacted with children and praised the institution's Vedic curriculum, calling for similar models elsewhere in the state.
To make grievance redressal more accessible, HHRC has started accepting complaints via email (hhrc-hry@nic.in) and is conducting bi-monthly Camp Courts in Gurugram for six southern districts, eliminating the need for complainants to travel to Chandigarh or Gurugram.
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The Dalit community has long demanded the caste survey to ascertain the numbers in each of the sub-castes to decide the division of quotas in government jobs, education, and political representation, which is now allegedly hogged by upwardly mobile social groups among the SCs like the Holeyas, and the Banjaras and Bhovis. The Justice Nagamohan Das Commission was set up by the Congress government after the previous BJP government (2019-2023) arrived at an ad hoc sub-quota number. During its tenure between 2019 and March 2023, the BJP government had enhanced SC quotas in the state from 15 per cent to 17 per cent in 2022, and announced internal reservation for SC communities in March 2023 by providing six per cent of the total of 17 per cent quota for the community to the SC Left group, 5.5 per cent to the SC Right group, 4.5 per cent to the touchables and one per cent to other SC groups. The BJP government fixed the internal quota on an ad hoc basis by considering the 2011 caste census numbers and by considering certain aspects of the 2012 Justice A J Sadashiva Commission report on internal quotas, while rejecting the Sadashiva Commission report itself. The most backward Dalit groups, like the Madigas, have been demanding the implementation of the Justice Sadashiva Commission report on account of the Commission recommending six per cent for the SC Left group, five per cent for the backward SC Right, three per cent for the 'touchable' group (Lambani, Bhovis, Korachas, Kormas), and one per cent for others. The Commission found that the majority of the reservation for the 101 sub-sects of Dalits in Karnataka was being cornered by the Dalit Right, including the Holeyas, and new SC groups like Bhovis and Lambanis, while the most backward groups, like the Madigas, remained deprived. The BJP's internal quota scheme backfired on the party to some extent, with the 'touchable' groups like the Bhovis and Banjaras expressing their displeasure against the party during the 2023 polls over the reduced internal quota of 4.5 per cent (against the previous 15 per cent) available to them. The BJP's scheme was, however, not implemented since the mandate for changing internal quotas was vested with the Union government at the time. In August 2024, a Supreme Court ruling said the granting of internal reservation is a constitutional measure and states can implement it on the basis of empirical data. While constituting the Justice Nagamohan Das Commission, the government felt that internal reservations for SCs based on population numbers – like in the Sadashiva Commission report – could possibly be struck down by courts for want of proper data as ordered by the Supreme Court. 'In the wake of three decades of continuous demands and pressure for internal reservation in the state, the Cabinet has agreed in principle to provide internal reservation for Scheduled Castes. There are 101 sub-castes…and the government has decided to take all of them into confidence and scientifically implement internal reservation,' Siddaramaiah said in 2024 when the Cabinet decided to set up the new Commission. The chief minister indicated that the Telangana government had already constituted a Commission along the same lines for the implementation of internal reservation, and that data is required for the scientific implementation of internal reservation as directed by the top court. Politically, the SC internal quota issue is a tricky subject for the Congress in Karnataka which has traditionally drawn its support from the SC Right group to which many of its prominent leaders belong. While the SC Left has supported the Congress in the past, many of these communities have moved towards the BJP in recent times on account of alleged neglect by the Congress in terms of political representation and opportunities. The most prominent SC Left leader in the Congress at present is K H Muniyappa, a seven-time MP and former Union minister. The SC Right group and the 'touchables', who have reportedly enjoyed the most access to the entire 15 per cent SC quota available in the state until now, are expected to resist any move by the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet to divide the SC quota in the state since these two politically powerful groups will get reduced shares of five per cent and four per cent, respectively. Total population- 1,05,09,871 Total subcastes – 101 Total reservation – 17%
