GS Paper II 2021 · Q12
15 marks · 250 words Statutory, regulatory & quasi-judicial bodies X-Ray · Core #40Though the Human Rights Commissions have contributed immensely to the protection of human rights in India, yet they have failed to assert themselves against the mighty and powerful. Analyzing their structural and practical limitations, suggest remedial measures.
Approach · directive: “analyze / suggest”
What it asks · Acknowledge the Commissions' contribution, analyse the legal, structural and practical limits that weaken them against powerful actors, and suggest reforms.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Acknowledge the contribution of the NHRC and State Human Rights Commissions
- Analyse their structural and practical limitations against the mighty and powerful
- Suggest remedial measures
Open with · NCERT records that Machal Lalung spent 54 years in custody until an NHRC team intervened; Commissions under the PHRA, 1993 give such victims a voice but falter against the powerful.
Cover
- Contribution: suo motu action on custodial deaths and encounters; NCERT credits its work on disappeared youth in Punjab and the Gujarat riot cases.
- Recommendatory only: Section 18 lets it recommend compensation or prosecution; it has no power of prosecution, and compliance is often partial or delayed.
- Carve-outs: Section 19 lets it only seek the Centre's report on the armed forces; Section 36 bars inquiry after one year.
- Appointments: a selection committee chaired by the Prime Minister and weighted towards the government limits pluralism; State Commissions carry vacancies.
- Practical limits: investigators on deputation from the police, government-controlled funds, backlog and little presence in remote areas.
- Remedies: binding recommendations or reasoned replies, removal of the time bar and armed-forces limit, own cadre, plural appointments, adequate funds per the Paris Principles.
Close with · SDG indicator 16.a.1 measures independent human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles; India's Commissions need teeth, independence and funds to meet it.
Add value (verified)
- For complaints against the armed forces, Section 19 lets the Commission only seek a report from the Centre and then either drop the complaint or make recommendations to that Government.The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (as amended), Section 19(1) - National Human Rights Commission ↗“after the receipt of the report, it may, either not proceed with the complaint or, as the case may be, make its recommendations to that Government”
- The Paris Principles (UN General Assembly resolution 48/134, 1993) require adequate funding so that a national human rights institution has its own staff and premises, independent of government.Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions (The Paris Principles) - OHCHR ↗“The purpose of this funding should be to enable it to have its own staff and premises, in order to be independent of the Government and not be subject to financial control which might affect its independence.”
- SDG indicator 16.a.1 tracks the existence of independent national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles.Goal 16 targets and indicators - UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs ↗“Indicators 16.a.1 Existence of independent national human rights institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 333words · Minimalist IAS
Machal Lalung spent 54 years in custody without trial until a team appointed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) secured his release (NCERT). Such rescues show what the Commissions under the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993 can do, and also how rarely they confront the State's own powerful arms.
Contribution to human rights
- Custodial justice: suo motu cognisance and reporting guidelines for custodial deaths and encounters.
- Landmark interventions: NCERT credits the NHRC's work on disappeared youth in Punjab and on the Gujarat riot cases.
- Speedy relief: recommended compensation reaches victims faster than courts; thematic reports cover prisons, manual scavenging and child rights.
Structural limitations
- Recommendatory only: under Section 18 it may only recommend compensation or prosecution; it has no power to prosecute.
- Armed-forces carve-out: under Section 19 it can merely seek the Centre's report, then drop the matter or recommend.
- Time bar: Section 36 bars inquiry into acts more than one year old.
- Executive-weighted selection: a committee chaired by the Prime Minister, with the Home Minister and Speaker, limits pluralism.
| Limitation | Source in PHRA | Remedy |
|---|---|---|
| Advice only | Section 18 | Binding or reasoned reply |
| Armed forces | Section 19 | Independent inquiry |
| One-year bar | Section 36 | Longer limit |
Practical limitations
- Borrowed investigators: staff on deputation from the police probe their own parent force.
- Dependence and delay: government-controlled budgets, State Commission vacancies, backlogs and little reach in remote areas.
Remedial measures
- Teeth: binding recommendations, or a duty to reply with reasons within a fixed time, tabled in the legislature.
- Wider reach: end the armed-forces limit and extend the one-year bar for grave abuses.
- Independence: an own cadre of investigators and transparent, plural appointments with civil-society members.
- Paris Principles (UN, 1993): adequate funding so the Commission has its own staff and premises, free of government financial control.
SDG indicator 16.a.1 measures whether a country has an independent human rights institution compliant with the Paris Principles; with legal teeth, autonomy and resources, India's Commissions can protect the vulnerable against the mighty, not merely record their grievances.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
