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Amnesty International Report 2002 - India

Covering events from January-December 2001

Republic of India
Head of state: Kocheril Raman Narayanan
Head of government: Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Capital: New Delhi
Population: over 1 billion
Official language: Hindi
Death penalty: retentionist

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People from socially and economically marginalized sections of society continued to be particularly vulnerable to torture and ill-treatment by both the police and non-state actors. The numbers of deaths in custody among members of these groups remained high, while their access to redress continued to be difficult despite the existence of progressive legislation. Human rights defenders continued to be harassed by both the police and non-state actors, and some of their activities were labelled "anti-national"by the government. Excessive force was often used by law enforcement officers while policing peaceful demonstrations. Inter-caste and inter-religious tensions were often politically exploited, leading to several violent incidents throughout the country in which the police were believed to have taken a partisan role. Security concerns were addressed by the government through proposals for new and particularly stringent special legislation intended to grant wide powers of arrest and detention to law enforcement personnel. The criminal justice system continued to be extremely slow, under-resourced and to provide weak safeguards for the accused. Law enforcement officers were allowed de facto impunity both inside and outside areas of armed conflict. Impunity was encouraged by provisions in most existing security legislation, by political protection and by slow judicial proceedings and lack of implementation of findings by commissions of inquiry.

Background

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance continued in office throughout the year, despite recurring tensions between the BJP and some of its allies. State elections were held in five states in May. Their results reflected a growing importance in state-level politics of caste and regional parties respectively in the northern and in the southern states. Tensions between the Hindu and Muslim communities continued to be fuelled by different political groups, and clashes between the police and some Muslim groups intensified after the government declared its support for the bombing campaign in Afghanistan which followed the attacks in the USA on 11 September. In Kashmir, human rights abuses continued to be committed both by armed groups, and police and security forces on a large scale. An average of 100 civilians were killed there each month. Tensions between India and Pakistan on the issue of the support to armed groups in Kashmir became a subject of international debate in the context of the bombing campaign in Afghanistan by the USA and its allies. These tensions further increased, leading to a military build-up on the border between the two countries, following an attack on the Union Parliament on 13 December by members of an armed group. In the northeast, a cease-fire between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Issac-Muivah) and the central government was extended in July for one year. Violent protests led by non-Naga organizations in the neighbouring state of Manipur prevented the cease-fire being extended beyond Nagaland, as initially proposed.

Special legislation

Calls by the USA for a "global campaign against terrorism" following the attacks in the USA on 11 September provided a context for several initiatives by the Indian government to tighten security legislation in the country. A new Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) was promulgated in October, giving the police wide powers of arrest and providing for up to six months' detention without charge or trial for political suspects. As the Ordinance was not discussed in Parliament during the winter session, it was repromulgated in December. Human rights organizations were concerned that some provisions were not consistent with the rights to freedom of expression and association set out in international human rights standards. Similar "anti-terrorism" bills were adopted or under examination in several states, including West Bengal, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In November the Foreign Contribution (Management and Control) Bill 2001 was drafted. The Bill was intended to replace the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act and to curb the flow of foreign funds to both "terrorist" groups and non-governmental organizations.

The authorities continued to use the lapsed Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) to detain people in Jammu and Kashmir by linking them to ongoing cases filed before 1995. Hundreds of people remained in detention under the TADA, despite Supreme Court orders for a review of all cases.

Impunity

In August, government officials proposed granting amnesties to police officers facing trial for committing human rights abuses in their official capacity during the period of militancy in Punjab between 1984 and 1994. These proposals were neither officially confirmed nor withdrawn by the end of the year.

The government failed to act on recommendations made by several commissions of inquiry after identifying the involvement of police and security forces in human rights violations. The recommendations of the Shrikrishna Commission, concerning the communal riots which took place in Mumbai in 1992 and 1993 following the destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya, were implemented extremely slowly. Seventeen police officers had been issued with charge-sheets by the end of the year for having taken sides with violent Hindu groups during the riots which claimed 1,788 lives. Similarly, the recommendations of the Pandian Commission on the unlawful killings in April 2000 of protesters at Barakpore, Jammu and Kashmir, were not implemented by the government. The report itself was not made public. Special security laws, including the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, the POTO and the National Security Act, as well as the Protection of Human Rights Act, continued to retain provisions granting virtual impunity for government officials and army officers committing abuses while acting in their official capacity.

Discrimination

Socially and economically marginalized sections of society such as women, dalits, adivasis (tribal people) and religious minorities continued to suffer abuses as a result of discrimination by both the police and non-state actors. Their access to justice remained limited, despite the existence of some progressive pieces of legislation, as the criminal justice system tended to reproduce in its functioning the gender, caste and class discrimination exisiting in the society.

Discrimination against members of dalit communities received international attention when the issue was discussed during the UN World Conference against Racism (WCAR), held in South Africa in September. However, the final declaration of the WCAR did not acknowledge discrimination based on "work and descent" as a form of racism.

Since the attacks in the USA of 11 September and on the Union Parliament in December, the Muslim community became increasingly vulnerable to victimization by both the state and some Hindu political groups. Tensions between the police and Muslim groups erupted into rioting in different parts of the country, including Lucknow and Malegaon. Tension also escalated in connection with the intensification of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's campaign for the reconstruction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, at the site of a mosque destroyed by Hindu rioters in 1992.

Human rights defenders

Harassment of human rights defenders by both state officials and other groups and individuals remained a constant feature throughout the year. There were reports of beatings, shootings and the use of excessive force by the police to try to prevent human rights defenders organizing peaceful protests against the government and non-state actors. Organizations assisting tribal communities to prevent their land being taken for industrial projects were particularly targeted. Several activists had false charges brought against them in an attempt to discredit their work. The government initiated inquiries into cases of suspected abuses against human rights defenders, but charges were rarely brought and investigations were often little more than a formal exercise.

• Four adivasis (tribal people) were killed in April when police opened fire on a peaceful meeting in Mehndikheda, Madhya Pradesh, held to discuss allegations of abuses of the rights of adivasis by local police and forest officials. An administrative inquiry set up to investigate the killings fell short of international standards for an independent and impartial inquiry. Its report had not been made public by the end of the year.
• Azam Ali, District Secretary of the Nalgonda branch of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC), was killed in February by unidentified gunmen while on his way to a meeting to commemorate the death of the Joint Secretary of the APCLC, who was killed in November 2000. Despite the immediate establishment of a judicial inquiry into the killing, its report was not made public by the end of the year. Harassment of other members of the APCLC, including death threats, continued unchecked.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders had not been invited to visit the country by the end of the year.

Torture and ill-treatment

Torture by both state agents and non-state actors remained widespread throughout the country. Members of marginalized sections of society were particularly vulnerable. The National Human Rights Commission reported that 127 people had died in police custody between April 2000 and March 2001.

• On 26 October Raja Ram was reportedly arrested with his two brothers after a neighbour had called the police because of a dispute. The three men, belonging to the dalit community, were allegedly beaten with sticks and rods at the Mariyaon police station in Lucknow. Raja Ram was hung upside down and water was poured into his nose. The three were released on bail after the police reportedly filed the case under section 151 of the Indian Penal Code (preventive detention) in order to legalize the arrests. Raja Ram died on 29 October. A case was filed for murder against five police officers. However, the Lucknow police authorities allegedly denied any responsibility, arguing that Raja Ram died because of disease.

By the end of 2001 India had not ratified the UN Convention against Torture, which it had signed in October 1997, nor had national legislation been drafted to enable its ratification. Therefore, no code or law specifically forbids torture as a criminal offence. Several provisions introduced by the POTO were believed to facilitate the use of torture in police custody.

The UN Special Rapporteur on torture was not granted access to the country by the end of the year, despite repeated requests.

Human rights commissions

There were no indications of progress by the government in considering amendments recommended in 2000 by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993. The NHRC thus continued to be unable to investigate allegations of human rights violations committed by members of the army or paramilitary forces, as well as incidents which took place more than a year before a complaint was made. In September, the NHRC attended the World Conference against Racism and took an independent view from the government, in favour of the inclusion of caste discrimination as a form of racism.

In November the NHRC announced its opposition to the enactment of the POTO, judging it to be "draconian" and superfluous, and considering the existing laws sufficient to deal with "terrorism" if properly enforced.

State human rights commissions (SHRCs) were created in Maharashtra and Chattisgarh in July, bringing to 12 the number of states having an SHRC. Difficult working conditions, including lack of resources, continued to be reported by some SHRCs.

Abuses by armed groups

There were continued reports of abuses by armed groups in many states, including torture and deliberate killings of civilians. In areas of armed conflict, such as Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, hundreds of non-combatants, including children, were killed in indiscriminate violence. Conflicts in the states of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal, involving different factions of the naxalite (armed left-wing) groups and the police, claimed many civilian lives.

Death penalty

At least 16 people were sentenced to death in 2001. It was not known if any executions were carried out, nor how many prisoners were held on death row. The government of India does not publish statistical information about the implementation of the death penalty.

Legislation to extend the use of the death penalty to crimes of rape remained pending. The Explosive Substances (Amendment) Bill 1999, which extends the scope of the death penalty by making the possession of lethal explosives a capital offence, was passed by parliament at the end of the year. The POTO provides for the death penalty for "terrorist" offences which result in death. The concern that this would lead to an increase in the number of death sentences was heightened by the fact that provisions of the Ordinance made unfair trials more likely.

AI country reports/visits

Reports

• India: Words into action – recommendations for the prevention of torture (AI Index: ASA 20/003/2001)
• India: The battle against fear and discrimination – the impact of violence against women in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan (AI Index: ASA 20/016/2001)
• India: Time to act to stop torture and impunity in West Bengal (AI Index: ASA 20/033/2001)
• India: Briefing on the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (AI Index: ASA 20/049/2001)