Bhubaneswar: Aggrieved citizens from across the state throng to Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) every day following failure by government machinery in delivering justice to them. Meanwhile, the commission has started running with a full 3-member panel after a lapse of more than six years following the appointment of a former judge of High Court Justice Bimal Prasad Das as its chairperson in September 2019.
However, the number of pending cases at OHRC has witnessed a continuous rise despite the commission having a full team. The number of cases pending with OHRC rose from 13,398 at the end of August 2019 to 14,011in May 2020.
As many as 13,408 cases were pending for hearing in August 2019 while 273 new applications were registered in the same month. The commission with just one member in the panel had disposed of 283 cases in the month while the number of pending cases dropped to 13,398 at the end of the month.
The number further declined to 13,392 in September while the registration of new applications rose to 345. The increase in the filling of pleas has indicated people’s rising faith in the rights body following the constitution of the three-member panel.
However, the rising pendency proved that the commission failed to live up to the expectations of people. In October 2019, the commission received 388 new cases while it managed to dispose of 303. The size of pendency rose to 13,477 in October as against 13,392 at the end of the previous month.
The pendency kept going up regardless of the number of fresh cases filed till May 2020. The cases pending in November 2019 were 13,559 that rose to 13,666 in December. As many as 13,738 complaints pending in January 2020 went up to 13,752 at the end of February. Meanwhile, the number of registrations of new cases saw a fall during December 2019, January and March 2020.
The data also revealed that many applicants have been seeking the intervention of OHRC in matters like civil disputes, sub-judiced issues or disputes related to service matters beyond the jurisdiction of the commission. The panel dismissed hundreds of such cases every month. As many as 220 cases were dismissed in September 2019 while 243 cases were dismissed in November 2019.
Speaking to Orissa POST, an OHRC staff said, “Staff crunch and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic are two prime reasons behind the increase in pending cases.”
Gyan Ranjan Mohapatra, OP