Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Monday urged human rights institutions to reach people who struggle to make their voices heard. He addressed the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) 33rd Foundation Day function at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
Kant said the NHRC had evolved into a trusted institution over 33 years. He stressed that constitutional guarantees of dignity, equality, liberty and justice must become everyday realities.
“Institutions, like people, are best understood on their birthdays. We look back at where they began, we look around at where they stand, and we look ahead at what they owe the people they serve,” he said.
The NHRC has registered more than 24 lakh cases and disposed of over 23 lakh, recording a disposal rate exceeding 98 per cent. Kant said these figures reflected efforts to bring serious human rights violations to public attention.
Safeguarding The Most Vulnerable
He cited cases involving custodial torture and deaths, bonded labour, industrial exposure to silicosis and violations affecting marginalised communities. He emphasised accountability, meaningful relief and measures to prevent recurring abuses.
“A right that works for the powerful but fails the powerless cannot be regarded as a right in its true sense,” he remarked, describing it as “a privilege with better branding”.
Kant urged stronger protection for undertrials without lawyers, undocumented migrants, abandoned elderly people, persons with disabilities and overlooked women.
He underscored the role of State Human Rights Commissions in addressing local grievances. Courts must uphold constitutional rights, while commissions should investigate complaints and identify systemic failures.
The conference theme was “Water as the Elixir of Life: Advancing Human Dignity through the Right to Water”. Discussions covered waterbody restoration and drinking water protection.
Kant described human rights as tangible as “a glass of clean water in the hands of a child”.
NHRC Chairperson Justice V Ramasubramanian, members Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi, Vijaya Bharathi Sayani and Priyank Kanoongo, Secretary General Piyush Goyal and other dignitaries attended.
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