[Sterlite] Alarming that police fired at unarmed protestors and no one is booked for 3 years: Madras High Court seeks 2018 NHRC probe report

The Madras High Court on Friday directed the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to forward a copy of its "undisclosed" investigation report into the 2018 police firing incident at Thoothukudi, in which 16 persons were reportedly killed while protesting against Sterlite's copper smelting plant in the area (Henri Tiphagne v. NHRC and ors)..The Court also made strong observations about whether it is adequate to compensate the victims of such incidents of possible brutality and excessive police action, while not holding any person responsible for the deaths. ."Can we kill people and throw money at them and say our job is done? Is that the society that we want to build?....just throwing money at some people and everything is hushed up?" Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee orally remarked today. .These concerns were reflected in the interim order passed today as well. "It is somewhat alarming that the State through its police fires at unarmed protestors and no one is booked some three years after the incident. It may not augur well for a civil society governed by the constitutional principles that we have to merely throw money at the families of the victims and give closure to an incident of possible brutality and excessive police action. No conclusion need be drawn yet before the facts come to light. But it is necessary that facts come to light and be made public", stated the order..The Court passed the interim order in a petition moved by Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director of the NGO People's Watch, to reopen the case registered by the NHRC on the Sterlite incident..Appearing in person, Advocate Tiphagne told the Court today that while the NHRC had closed the case in October 2018, it was yet to disclose the report filed by its team which had conducted an investigation at the site..The Court has now issued notice to the NHRC, directed it to file its 2018 spot investigation report in the matter and clarify its stand on the issue through a counter affidavit to be filed in four weeks' time. The investigation report may be filed in a sealed cover if the NHRC is of the view that the matter is delicate at the moment, the Court added. .Advocate General R Shunmugasundaram took notice for the State authorities. He submitted today that the Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by former High Court Judge, Justice Aruna Jagadeeshan submitted an interim report recently, on May 14, 2021. .The Court recorded the petitioner's submission that this report was also filed only after the State pushed for it and may not have been forthcoming otherwise. .The State has been directed to furnish this interim report as well. The matter will be heard next on August 9. ."For a start, the State must disclose the interim report in the counter affidavit to be filed by the State wherein the State's considered stand should be clearly spelt out. It is also necessary, fit and proper that the report submitted to the NHRC by its investigation division following the spot investigation be forwarded to this court in a sealed cover...(if) the commission feels such report to be delicate at the moment", the interim order stated..Whereas the matter was taken up today at the Madurai Bench by Chief Justice Banerjee and Justice TS Sivagnanam, the Court has directed that the case be listed before the Principal Bench of the High Court at Chennai since it is a matter of some importance. .By an order dated October 2018, the NHRC had closed this suo motu case considering the "adequate compensation" paid by the State to the victims, other appropriate steps taken to restore peace and normalcy by the State and given that the State-appointed judicial commission was looking into police excesses, if any. As such, the NHRC had opined that "no further intervention in the matter is required" before closing the case..The petition states,"... the grounds for the NHRC closing the suo moto case in its order dated 25.10.2018 was ill-advised, and the case must be reopened. The NHRC has stated in its order dated 25.10.2018 that the grounds for the closure of the case are that compensation was paid to the victims of the police firing. The compensation referred to is an ex gratia payment made by the Government of Tamil Nadu, which is within the domain of the Govt. to provide the victims. The Commission has failed to exercise its own powers in cases of human rights violations by state authorities to award separate amounts of compensation to the families of the victims of the deceased, those injured during the protest, those who were illegally detained after the protests under the provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993......the state authorities’ efforts to bring law and order in the District have resulted in more human rights violations and distrust among the citizenry of the police, district administration, and the government. Further, the PILs filed in this regard were overlooked by the Commission.".Pertinently, Tiphagne has highlighted that the NHRC's October 2018 closure report makes no reference to the report submitted by the NHRC's investigation division, which is stated to have conducted a spot investigation into the incident in June 2018. The report was filed at the end of June 2018, but is yet to be disclosed, Tiphagne submitted. .In its interim order, the Court also noted that the NHRC took suo motu cognisance of the May 22, 2018 police firing the day following the incident, with initial observations that the victims' right to life had been grossly violated and that the police had fired on unarmed protestors without following the standard operating procedure. .Madras HC issues notice in PIL for SIT probe into Thoothukudi police firing