Coronavirus lockdown | NHRC issues notices to States

Maharashtra, M.P. pulled up over plight of migrants

May 14, 2020 10:22 pm | Updated 10:27 pm IST - NEW DELHI

BANGALORE, 27/05/2011: (From left) Minister for Home and Transport R. Ashok, Former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India M.N. Venkatachalaiah and Director, CHRI, Maja Daruwala at the release of a booklet on '101 Things you wanted to know about the Police But Were Too Afraid to Ask' at Yavanika in Bangalore on May 27, 2011. 
Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE, 27/05/2011: (From left) Minister for Home and Transport R. Ashok, Former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India M.N. Venkatachalaiah and Director, CHRI, Maja Daruwala at the release of a booklet on '101 Things you wanted to know about the Police But Were Too Afraid to Ask' at Yavanika in Bangalore on May 27, 2011. Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday issued notice to the Maharashtra government over the “inappropriate approach” adopted for the release of prisoners to avoid the SARS-CoV-2 infection and the incident of a pregnant migrant giving birth on the road.

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown | Migrant exodus chokes Maharashtra-M.P. border

In the second case, it also issued notice to the Madhya Pradesh government as the woman was walking from Maharashtra to Satna, her home town, when she was forced to give birth on the road.

Taking cognisance of a complaint by its prison monitor Maja Daruwala, the NHRC noted that “allegedly, the policy adopted by the Maharashtra government to decongest jails has arisen due to the misinterpretation of directions given by the Supreme Court in the matter”.

She asked the NHRC for its intervention to ensure the safety of prisoners.

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown | Weary migrant workers lug crashed hopes en route their homes

“The Commission has observed that it is aware of the fact that in many jails, the prisoners as well as the staff members have fallen prey to COVID-19 owing to overcrowding, lack of manpower and medical facilities,” an NHRC statement said.

In the second case, the NHRC took cognisance suo motu of media reports on Tuesday about a pregnant woman, who was walking with her husband from Nashik in Maharashtra to Satna, when she developed labour pain.

She gave birth on the road, resting for two hours and continuing to walk the remaining 150 km.

“The Commission has observed that this incident amounts to sheer negligence of the state authorities, resulting in violation of human rights of the victim woman,” another statement said.

The NHRC asked Chief Secretaries of both States for a report in four weeks.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.