The Concept of Human rights in not anything new.

These are the minimal rights which every individual must have by virtue of his being a member of the human family irrespective of any other consideration. This concept of human right was earlier known as Natural Rights. The general belief is that the concept of human rights is western and that the origin of the concept in the world history found its first expression in Magna Carta of 1215, and after this the Petition of Rights of 1628, the Bill of Rights, 1688, the American Bill of Rights,1789, became the milestones along the road in which the individual acquired protection against the capricious acts of the king. However it is not justified to limit the origin of the concept of human rights to only western civilization. The concept of Human Rights had already occupied a place of prime importance in ancient Indian Society. The truth is that what the west has discovered about human rights now. India has embedded the same in its deep- rooted traditions since time immemorial. The ancient Indian legal philosopher were universalist, humanist, rationalist and above all moralist who evolved a system of legal theory which was based on higher values and ideals. I would quote some of the references which will establish the deep penetration of the concept of human rights into Indian tradition. Sarve Bhavantu Sukhina Sarve Santu Niramaya, Sarve Bhadrani Pashyantu Ma Kashchid Dukhbhag Bhavet Mahabharata The aforesaid hymn shows that the concept of human right possess a long history in Indian tradition. Human right has always occupied a important place in India's rich legacy and believed in the 'welfare of all.i.e. Vashudhaive -Kutumbakam. Further A reference of famous political treatise Arthshastra in which its author Kautilya categorically ordained that the king shall provide the orphan, the aged, the infirm,the afflicted and helpless with maintenance; he shall also to provide subsistence to the helpless expectant mothers and also to the children they gave birth to Thus the reference makes it clear that in Maurya Region there was a clear protection of right to social security and right to livelihood as a natural right also known as human rights today.2 Justice Nagendra Singh of International Court of Justice opined that respect for the human personality and its absolute worth, regardless of colour, race, sex are the very foundation of human rights. These rights are essential for the adequate development of human personality and for human happiness and progress. Human rights may therefore be said to be those fundamental rights to which every man or woman inhabiting any part of the world should be deemed born a human being.3

Justice Rang Nath Mishra, Former Chairman of National Human Rights commission of India, has observed that it is an obligation which all of us have to perform. Man, wherever he lives, whatever religion he professes, whatever food he takes, is a member of one family and the whole world is one family. All of us must learn to live like a member of one family. In the absence of human rights, individual and families are disintegrating in the modern era. It is a challenge to the human process. Justice D.V. Madan said that the concept of Human Rights is the result of man's inhumanity to man. The Maxim of Law is, there is no rights without a remedy. The maxim of history has been, there is no right without a wrong.5 The story of Human Rights is thus the story of human wrongs. God divided the light from the darkness and the water from the land. But man divided his fellow man into those who were considered to possess none and thus came the conclusion that all men had certain rights not because of any worldly status or position but by virtue of being human being of we can say that a man has certain inherent rights to save himself from discrimination on the basis of race, caste, religion, economic or social status etc. known as human rights. Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 has defines the term 'human rights' , 'Human Rights means he rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of individual guaranteed by the constitution or embodied in international covenants and enforced by courts in India.'6 Human rights may be said to be rights that are inherent in people by virtue of being human being, the rights are absolutely essential for the full and complete development of human personality. Generally, two categories of human rights are recognized, namely civil and political, economic, cultural and social rights. However third categories has also come up but has yet not been fully established that includes rights to development, right to common heritage of mankind, etc. These rights have been forcefully advocated by developing countries. Since Human Rights are those rights which are available to an individual by virtue of simply being a human therefore the scope of human rights becomes very vast. If we try to sketch the boundaries for human rights it will cover the protection of an individual from cradle to grave. Human rights of an individual start from the birth and continue even after his death. When a child takes birth parental care becomes his/ her right. When that child grows up education becomes his/ her right, thereafter when attains youth hood he needs some work to do for his livelihood and that too in a healthy environment further right to marry and procreation are his human rights. When that child attains old age then right to get proper care from his or her children becomes his/ her human right and at the time of death right to get respectable cremation and proper homage are human rights of an individual. Thus human rights travel during the whole journey of an individuals life along with him. To be true and thankfully Indian constitution is a document rich in human right jurisprudence. The preamble concisely sets out the quintessence of human rights, which represents the aspirations of the people who have

established the constitution. Democracy, secularism, liberty and equality as they appear in the preamble are considered as the basic features of Indian constitution. The preamble of Indian constitution aimed at the protection and promotion of human rights of each and every individual. Many of the human rights and freedoms provided by Universal Declaration on Human Rights, 1948 and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 are envisaged under chapter III and IV i.e. Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy of Indian Constitution. The latest judicial trend reveals that Indian courts are quite enthusiastic in using the law as a tool of social revolution and to serve the larger social interest. Chief Justice Bhagwati has rightly observed that courts should be guided by the paramount object and purpose for which the constitution has been enacted. Law must be treated as a tool of social reform and social transformation for creating a new social order where human rights of each and every individual can be enforced with a possibility of grater common good. The very first and basic human right of an individual is right to life and life with dignity is part and parcel of this right. Life with dignity is the necessary epitome of right to life which helps in development of an individuals personality and true realization of human rights. The court in Kharak Singh vs. State of U.P. 7defined the meaning of LIFE as something more than mere animal existence. Life in real sense means life with dignity and of such nature which may afford an individual the opportunities to get desired heights as per his capabilities. Life with dignity goes with many other things which are the basic necessities of life such as adequate nutrition, clothing, shelter over heads and facilities to read write and express or simply to say education. The same was held in Francis Coralie vs. Union Territory of Delhi8 and activities as constitute the bare minimum expression of human self were declared as human right. Right to livelihood is also as much important as right to live itself is as if one is not given right to earn his livelihood his right to live is worth for nothing. One can not enjoy of being a human if he does not possess right to earn means for his life as per his capabilities. We cannot expect that a bagger enjoys his life as a human being or a dignity of being a human which an individual must feel. A man whosoever he is must get the opportunity to collect means of his life by his own efforts not by the mercy of others. The Supreme Court in Olga Tellis vs. Bombay Municipal Corporation9 and Delhi Transport Corporation vs. DTC Majdoor Congress10 case came forward with the protection of right to livelihood slum and pavements dwellers and employees of DTC and held that right to life includes right to livelihood and they are deprived of this right. It will be a threat to their very existence and may be the biggest attack over their human rights. Moving ahead right to shelter is also one of the principal right that constitute the entire spectrum of Human right jurisprudence. The term Shelter should not be confined to the meaning: roof and four walls, which it obviously is. It should be taken on a different arena and must include all social, economic and political shelter. If we talk about social shelter it means that every class of society which is vulnerable for its self protection must be given by the rest of society members. Parental care for every child as was held a human right of every child in Laxmi Kant vs. Union of India11 case. It was also held in this case that parental care is an inherent right of every child and must be given preference over any other concern. A child becomes a man

and he becomes the mind, hand and body of a country, so it is not only in the interest of child but also in the collective interest of a country that its children should be given living, fooding, education and other required necessities. Every effort should be made to abolish child labour which presents the worst picture of a country claming to be rich in protection of human rights. The problem is not a new one for us and therefore our constitution framers under Article 15(3), 24, 45, 47 made provisions for securing the interest of children. Justice Subba Rao rightly observed that social justice must begin with children unless the tender plant is properly nourished. It has a little chance of growing into a strong and useful tree. So first priority in the scale of social justice should be given to the children and they must be preferential owner of human right of shelter. In Sheela Barse vs. Secretary Children Aid society and others 12 case it was very well observed that if there be no proper growth of children of today, the future of the country will be dark. It is the obligation of every generation to bring-up the children who will be the citizen of tomorrow in a proper manner. Todays children will be the leaders of tomorrow who will hold the countrys banner high and maintain the prestige of the nation. But the primary responsibility starts from individual level as most of the percentage of child labour is working as domestic servants and if we dream for a better country first we must ensure the human rights of children working as domestic servant and must set them free from slavery. The second vulnerable class of society is women. Though the women in present time have came out from the boundaries of their houses and have better understanding of their rights but the ratio is very low. Most of the women are still locked within the four walls. They still face a unequal and degraded treatment. In Mohammad Ahamad vs. Shah Bano 13Case it was held that Large segment of the society have been traditionally subjected to unjust treatment. Women are one of such segment. Women are still an easy prey to dowry deaths and violence of men which is the gross violation of their human rights. In every aspect if life whether it may be emotional, economic, educational, social women are subject to discriminatory treatment in majority. Even in sexual activities which needs equal participation of male and female women dont have any freedom; they are used by men as a machine to satisfy their sexual desire without paying any heed to requirements and limitations of a lady. They are subjected to sexual exploitation at every place whether it may be a educational institute, government enterprise or a corporate firm, instances of their exploitation within the boundaries of their own houses by wicked fellows, neighbours, far or near relatives or sometimes by their own husbands or fathers are also very common. When we talk of womens development all are just vague or merely a showcase discussions. These are simply window shopping of development. Court in various cases as Visakha case14, Nargeesh Mirza case, Chandrimadas vs. Chairman Railway Board 15etc. has made efforts for creating equality for women to save their human rights but still the cases of gross violation of human rights of women such as Guddi case where she was compelled to marry with her father in law are coming regularly which shows that we are still lacking in protection of human rights of women. Their must be a common effort by the society to raise the standard of women. For this the first thing which is required is change of mentality. We must treat them human same as men are. Only then an inner feel of equality

may come and human rights of female who is the essential part of carrying out the circle of life may be secured. Shelter should also include educational shelter as the shelter would not result into a dignified human life unless it is backed by proper education. As the light of a candle depends on the thread inside the candle providing force and medium to the heat energy to produce light in the same manner future of a country depends on the education in that country providing its citizen the capability of proper and effective communication with outside world. Education helps the individual to understand his/her right, manner for its implementation. Therefore the right to education becomes the part of inalienable human right. Education is also a halt where the efficacy or propriety of implementation of human rights may be checked into. Further human right of dignified life may be provided only when education is imparted and therefore education automatically becomes human right of an individual. For implementation of this very human right Supreme court in various cases provided education a status of Fundamental right. Unnikrishnan J.P. vs. State of Andhra Pradesh 16and Mohini Jain 17case are remarkable on the point. It is the effort of judiciary in its various judgment due to which the legislature was compelled to give right to education a constitutional status and Article 21 A was added as fundamental right. Economic shelter may refer right to work and livelihood which I have dealt with earlier. The only thing which I would like to discuss at this stage is that right to work does not mean to work as animal, even the animal has some rights then a human certainly has something more than that. What I mean to say that right to work includes right to work in a healthy environment. It is not only the human right of every employee to get healthy, pleasant and soothing atmosphere at workplace but also the duty of employer to take care of it. Well known Visakha case18 gave this human right a abstract picture and it fixed duty on the employer to protect its employee from sexual exploitation and arrange for a healthy environment of work. It is not only in the the interest of employee but also for employer as a healthy working environment may result into a better performance and enhanced capacity. Political shelter means that the confidence of the people should not be offended or destroyed by any of political policy or action of the government or their political agents in whom they repose their confidence. In a representative system it is not only the legal right of an individual but also a human right to get a proper representation. Therefore the political parties and leaders as they hold the confidence of common man they should not violate it. Justice C.K. Thakkar in State Of Maharastra Vs. Bhaurao Punjabrao Gawande19 observed there can be no doubt that personal liberty is a precious right. So did the Founding Fathers believe because, while their first object was to give unto the people a constitution whereby a government was established, their second object, equally important was to protect the people against the government. That is why while conferring the extensive powers on the government like the power to declare an emergency, the power to suspend the enforcement of the fundamental rights or the power to issue an ordinance, they assured to the people a bill of rights by Part III of the constitution, protecting against executive and legislative despotism those human rights which they regarded as fundamental . The imperative necessities to protect those right is a lesson taught by all history and all human experience. Our constitution makers had lived through bitter years and seen an alien

government trample upon human rights which the country had fought hard to preserve. They believed like Jefferson that 'an elective despotism was not the Government we fought for' And, therefore, while arming the government with large powers to prevent anarchy from within and conquest from without, they took care to ensure that those powers were not abused to mutilate the liberties of the people. Moving one step forward in the journey of human right journey the next right is right to get remedy. In enforcement of this human right role of Public Interest Litigations is very remarkable. Justice Krishna Iyer defined the term PIL as a process of obtaining justice for the people, of voicing people's grievances through legal process. The aim is to give to the common man access to the courts to obtain legal redress. The shrines of justice have been thrown open for the poor, exploited and deprived section of community. The courts in India have started transforming the judiciary from merely a 'court of law' into a 'court of Justice', giving a sense of realization that the law and justice is meant for poor also. The courts unhesitatingly and without the slightest qualms of conscience cast aside the technical rules of procedure in the exercise of its power and treat the letter of public minded individual as a writ petition. Thus the PIL emerged as a innovative method for the purpose of providing access to justice to large masses of people who are denied of their basic human rights. 20 In Sukdas vs. Union Territory of Arunanchal Pradesh it was observed that in the absence of legal awareness which is responsible for the deception, exploitation, deprivation of rights and wrongful suppression of the poor which is a violation of their human rights is very common on this land. And due to this any effort made by any institution for the upliftment of poor and ensuring them their human rights fails. Because of poverty, illiteracy, and ignorance they cannot become self reliant. That is why it has been the principal item of any programme of legal aid movement in the country to promote legal literacy. In would in these circumstances make a mockery of legal aid if it would not be provided as state's responsibility. Perhaps considering the aforesaid reasons the right to get legal aid was declared as fundamental right in the present case and thus a responsibility to secure human rights of individual was fixed on state. In Parmanand Katara vs. Union of India21 the supreme court observed, that i is a paramount obligation of every member of medical profession (private or government) to give medical aid to every injured citizen brought for treatment immediately without waiting for procedural formalities and thus secured human right of health or to receive medical treatment. The another issue which I want to discuss is that whether the human rights make a complete sweep over every thing. No certainly not, the first and foremost requirement for proper implementation of human rights is that it must not be against morality and social order as if it is so it would be rejected by the society itself. For example right to earn livelihood is not only a fundamental right but also a human right. Livelihood cannot be earned by killing, snatching or by prostitution. The rights does not give license to do immorality in the grab of human right. It must be in consonance with moral values of society. I would mention two cases here one an old case of Sitara Devi case decided by Allahabad High court and the second is very well known Bombay Bar Girls case where the same issue was in question. It was observed that the act involves two activities one is cultural and the other is admitidly immoral and immoral part of the activity cannot be justified by

taking plea of human right to earn livelihood. Moreover no lady involved in these type of activities does the same by her free will. It is the economic or some other undue pressure which forces her to get indulged in the flesh trade business which is in itself violation of her human rights. There are various issues like right to form family recognized under Article 16 of Universal Declaration on Human Rights whether victims also possess this right, if not whether it is violation of their human right,torture in police custody, extra judicial killings protection of refugees from neighboring states, recognition of nationality to peoples living in POK as they don't have any representation in Indian parliament and not recognized as citizens of Pakistan etc are still untouched or unremedied with human right perspective . In spite of various legislative, judicial, executive and non governmental efforts the condition of human rights in India is not very satisfactory. India's Achilles heel has always been implementation, and what has been described as a 'culture of impunity' when faced with routine violation of laws and regulations in terms of atrocities and rape against dalits, deaths in police custody, encounter killings and disappearances of communal violence as reported almost daily in India's own media. Another self inflicted problem is government's extreme sensitivity to external criticism. We must improve implementation of commitments we have undertaken the culture of impunity i.e. non implementation has to be frontally attacked. Action must include prompt and visible prosecution under our laws of those who commit atrocities on vulnerable sections of society. India must rectify the Conventions against torture without further delay, india should try to come out of the long standing, sterile and legalistic stalement with the UN as to whether caste discrimination falls within the ambit of racial discrimination. India should reconsider the objections to receiving and cooperating transparently with UN special rapporteurs on issue of torture, arbitrary and extra judicial killing and detentions, treatment of human rights defenders etc, request for which have been pending for years. 22 There are various aspects of human rights. Along with disarmament and development, human being are essential part of total and holistic peace and human dignity. The human right signifies both rights and duties which are interlinked. The human rights are not only a vital aspect of a democratic society, but also for an economic, social and cultural rights and therefore sustainable development of the society is not possible without respect of human rights. Respect of human rights makes freedom meaningful. Human rights are meaningless in an environment of poverty and deprivation. Human rights are above politics. They are part and parcel of life in society and they concern humanity. Human rights necessarily signify human value in an absolute sense but they have greater relevance of the well-being of the individual if they are applied the context of society. The whole fabric of society depends upon human rights. Without human rights the society cannot run smoothly and there could be many chances of crimes and disturbance in the society. The protection of human rights is a constant struggle which cannot be won unless every man and woman participate in it. At last as a concluding remark i would say that right to life, right to food, right to education, right to earn livelihood, right to marry, right to procreate children, proper political representation, right not to get offended by someones expression and many other rights may be listed into the list of human right. Some of those are protected by constitutional provisions and some by judicial decisions. But the scope of human rights are bigger than

fundamental right. Since the court can protect the violation of rights by state or its agencies by the human rights are available against the world. Every human being possess a right that his human right should not be violated by any other individual. Therefore it is for us to create a system where human rights of each ad every individual ca be protected. For this we must understand our correlative human duty. It is a very old moral which everyone of us learns in our first school that we should not behave others in a manner which we don't expect for us. it is time to get this moral imparted into our life so as to establish a society where human rights of every individual can be protected. Or
Introduction: Human rights do not mean merely the right to live with humanity but mean the right to live with dignity. A dignified life is one that is free from social handicaps, prejudices and biases on the basis of casts, creed or sex. On December 10, 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was given as a precious gift to the people of the Globe, affirming that all people are born equal in dignity, yet till to date, most people of the world to whom this compelling declaration belongs and for whose empowerment. According to dictionary 'human rights' mean dealing with mankind according to truth and justice. H.J. Laski in 'A Grammar of Politics' observed that 'rights are those conditions of social life without which no man can seek, in general to be himself at his best'. Jacques Maritan in 'The Rights of Man' while dealing with this term has expounded that; Concept of Human Rights: The concept of right was first systematically developed in Rome. For Roman jurists, right, law and justice were inseparable, and the term just was used to refer to them all. Rights were created by law, and law was an articulation of community's conception of justice. Rights were subject to several constraints, and restricted depth and scope. During several centuries of feudalism, the picture was equally complex. Not only the individual but such traditional communities and groups as the cities guilds and estates were also bearers of rights. National Human Rights Commission established in 1993 has also contributed a lot in protection of human rights in India1. Human Rights in India: In the Preamble to the United Nations Charter, the peoples of the United Nations declare their determination "to save succeeding generation from the scourge of war, reaffirm faith fundamental human rights, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom." In India National Human Rights Commission was constituted in October 1993 under the "Human Rights Ordinance of 28th September, 1993, which was soon after enacted as the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, (No. 10 of 1994) (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). It is a fully autonomous body; its autonomy derived out of the method of appointment of the

THE ROLE OF JUDICIARY IN PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA: A STUDY

* Ms. Jyoti
members, there fixity of tenure, and statutory guarantees, thereto, the status they have been accorded; the manner in which the staff responsible to the Commission would be appointed and would conduct themselves; as also the autonomy it enjoys in terms of its financial powers2. The Role of Judiciary in Protection of Human Rights: The little drops of humanism which jointly make humanity a cherished desire of mankind has seemingly dried up when the perpetrators of the crime had burnt alive helpless woman and innocent children. Was their fault that they were born in the houses of persons belonging to a particular community? If it is assuming alarming proportions, now a days, all around it is merely on account of the devilish devices adopted by those at the helm of affairs who proclaim from roof tops to be the defenders of democracy and protectors of people' rights and yet do not hesitate to condescend behind the screen to let loose their men in uniform to settle personal scores, feigning ignorance of what happens and pretending to be peace loving puritans and saviours of citizens' rights". The court laid down the following guidelines till legislative measures are taken: the Police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations. The particulars of all such police personnel who handle interrogation of the arrestee must be recorded in a register. The arrestee should, if he so requests, if any present on his/her body must be recorded at that time. The "inspection memo" must be signed by both the arrestee and the police officer affecting the arrest and its copy provided to the arrestee3.The arrestee should be subjected to medical examination by a trained doctor every 48 hours during his detention in custody by doctor on the panel of approved doctors appointed by the director, health services of the concerned state/UT. Conclusion and Suggestions: The Indian Judiciary has acted in the protection and promotion of Human Rights contained in the Constitution and the Civil and Political Rights Covenants and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Covenants and Universal Declaration of Human Rights of

* Research Scholar Dept. of Public Adm, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 4

International Referred Research Journal,March, 2011.ISSN- 0974-2832,RNIRAJBIL2009/29954, VoL.II *ISSUE-26

the United Nations.The punch of law requires more propensity and effect. The working of judicial system particularly, the criminal justice system has collapsed. It is marred by delays and dying under its own weight due to mounting pendency of cases. The whole judicial system requires to be reformed. The successive cries

of the persons who matter in the affairs of judiciary for remedial measurers have fallen on deaf ears. Regarding National Human Rights Commission and State Human Rights Commission: The National Human Rights Commission and State Human Rights Commissions need to be given more autonomy and teeth. An independent and effective investigation agency with sufficient personnel under their command is required to effectively intervene in the matters of serious human rights' violations. The recommendations of the commissions at the national level as well as at the state level be made mandatory for the governments and their officials as well as private persons and institutions and the noncompliance must visit with penal consequences. Human Rights Courts be established at grass root level with sufficient powers to grant compensation in appropriate cases to victims of the violation of human rights alongwith stringent punishments. Necessary amendments be made in the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 in this regard as early as possible. Regarding Judiciary: Number of courts be increased manifold to clear the mounting arrears of pending cases and to improve the quality of justice. Judicial Officers, their supporting staff, prosecutors and lawyers be sensitised to the protection of human rights by imparting training. Free Legal Aid Services be made more effective so as to reach the needy and poor. Public interest litigation by public spirited persons for genuine public causes be encouraged to voice and address the grievances of the public at large and the poor in particular. To conclude, the suggestions and recommendations enumerated above are not the exhaustive. Many other have been suggested throughout the study. There may be many more. "Every day we see how discredited human rights and United Nations itself would be, in the eyes of the world, if the declarations, covenants, charters, conventions and treaties that we draft in order to protect Human Rights remained theoretical or were constantly violated. Human Rights should therefore, be covered by effective mechanisms and procedures to guarantee and protect them and to provide sanction". Undoubtedly several efforts have been made and suggested in the direction of better protection of human rights at different for as in India. The National Human Rights Commission has underlined the need for including principles of human rights in training programme of police and Paramilitary personnel to protect the sacred rights of citizens. 1.