Justice Hosbet Suresh, legal luminary and a stalwart of human rights jurisprudence, continues to live on in not just our hearts, but also his work, particularly that from his post-retirement years. He provided a voice to the voiceless through a series of fact-finding missions, people’s tribunals and public hearings, enabling even the oppressed and exploited to have access to justice.

On his birthday, July 20, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) is launching an archive of his reports of all these tribunals and public hearings. These include report on an inquiry into the December 1992-January 1993 Mumbai Riots, the July 1997 police firing at Ramabai Nagar, an inquiry into the Gujarat genocide of 2002 and much more.

Explaining the motivation to collate and host this archive, CJP secretary and human rights defender Teesta Setalvad said, “There could be no greater lasting tribute to the man than ensuring an enduring and pro-active archiving of the rights jurisprudence that he pioneered with Justice Krishna Iyer as his mentor and hundreds of human rights defenders as his allies. For him justice meant justice for the most far flung and deprived sections making the values of the right to life with dignity a living and lasting principle. From the right to access public education, to dignity of a living wage, to the livelihoods of margnalised coastal communities, against torture, state targeted violence against India’s religious minorities, it was Justice Hosbet Suresh who led the way. At a time when we are being badgered by state and non state actors alike, we in the Indian human rights movement need to re-dedicate ourselves to the fight that Justice Hosbet Suresh gave so many valued years to. It is also the fight to the finish as India slides into the miasma of a majoritarian autocracy.” 

CJP has received words of encouragement from many human rights defenders for this initiative. Activist Irom Sharmila, often hailed as the Iron Lady of India, credited him with opening her eyes to injustice saying, “I came to witness the real goings-on in human rights violations due to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in my own native state of Manipur, only after I participated in the internship based on the people’s fact-finding judiciary commission headed by Justice Hosbet Suresh.” 

Women’s rights activist Flavia Agnes of Majlis said, “If all the reports he had authored could be collected, they will form a veritable archive for future generations, to study the extent of human rights violations that had taken place during the last three decades.” She added, “The online archive will provide easy access to those who are engaged with the subject of human rights either at an academic level or as an activist on the ground. More importantly, Justice Suresh’s life and work will act as a beacon of hope for future generations, who might have to work in situations even more challenging than what we are witnessing today.” 

Senior advocate Mihir Desai said, “It is indeed highly laudable that Citizens for Justice and Peace is creating an archive of post retirement documents of Justice Suresh. That it is being launched on his birthday is doubly gratifying.” Expressing his admiration for the late Justice Suresh, Adv Desai said, “Justice Suresh, especially post retirement, was known as the man of the masses. Throwing himself into the deep end whenever and wherever there were human rights violations, doggedly participating in fact findings, people’s tribunals, and enthusiastically travelling to distant places including Kashmir, Manipur, Tamil Nadu to name just a few. He insisted on meeting victims of violations directly and interacting with them with compassion and empathy.”

 Shedding light on how Justice Suresh helped reshape the underlying principles of human rights, Sanjeewani Jain of Lok Raj Sangathan said, “Justice Suresh was an upholder of the Right to Life, which he insisted, was the Right to a Life of Dignity with access to everything that is necessary in this day and age, like sanitation, education, health services, electricity, etc. apart from food, clothing and shelter. This was a creative and vital interpretation of the Right to Life as defined in the Indian Constitution.” 

We are grateful to Justice Hosbet Suresh’s family for their support in this endeavour. His daughters; Rajini Sondur, Shalini Prasad and Malini Kanal penned a few words exclusively for us, “It didn’t matter to him that he’d have to go deep into the country, in whatever transport was available. It didn’t matter to him what facilities would be available. Regardless of his age. He took it all in his stride, with a shrug and a smile.” They added, “We were the privileged ones, for we grew up imbibing these ideals. With this website, we hope his work inspires many to follow in his footsteps!”

 Words of encouragement and testimonials are still pouring in with human rights defenders and legal stalwarts writing to us. These include senior advocate Gayatri Singh, activist John Dayal, the Coastal Action Network, the CIEDS Collective and many more. 

Today is just the beginning. We will continue to add more resources in the coming months and will also make content available in regional languages over time. We hope this archive enables CJP and all people passionate about human rights to not just walk in Justice Hosbet Suresh’s footsteps but to further develop the jurisprudence that he so eloquently pioneered.

The entire archive may be viewed at: https://cjp.org.in/justice-suresh-archives

The post CJP curates and hosts Justice Hosbet Suresh Archives  appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Friends and comrades of the Human Rights Communities and fellow lawyers and friends of Justice Hosabet Suresh, or simply Justice Suresh, as I would call him.

It is indeed an honour for me to be here amongst you all, to talk about a giant in the Human Rights Community in India, Justice Suresh. For indeed he was just that. The fact that he has brought all of us together today, a rare thing, is a testimony to the esteemed position he holds in the Human Rights Community. In fact, I can say that I am meeting a lot of you after a long time. That is the magic of Justice Suresh.

I must confess that when I first met him in late 1981 and I emphasize the first time, when he had just resumed his practice at the Bombay High Court, I never thought that he would charter such a course in his post retirement life that he did. But over the next 6 months when I was with him in my months of initial practice at the bar, it was evident to me that he was a man of principle, which he would never compromise on. He was also critical, to the point of impatience, but constructively so, on orders that were wrongly passed and which agitated him. He would point out to the mistakes in the order and tell the juniors how he would have dealt with the issues. He was also impatient with the world, full of energy, which made him innovative in his approach. As you can well imagine he was a man passionate about his beliefs which he was completely committed to. Though initially I wondered why he resigned as a judge from the Bombay City Civil and Sessions Court, by the time I left him after 6 months, it was obvious to me that his reasons were good. But with all, that at a personal level he was humble, simple, unassuming and a generous person. All these qualities would endure him well in the next 30 years after he retired as a judge of the Bombay High Court. 

As a judge also he showed his caliber on all issues, civil, criminal and procedural too. He was quick to pick up the issues in the matters before him and dispose of matters with proper application of mind and quickly. The losing side may complain about the order but all the lawyers and the parties always felt that they had a fair hearing. And matters which would require settlement, Justice Suresh would go an extra mile to see that an equitable settlement was arrived at. I never heard any lawyer complaining about his judgeship. Let me tell you that it is quite common for lawyers to put down a judge in private in the manner the judge conducts herself in court. All I heard about Justice Suresh was praise. The disappointing thing was that he was not allowed to prove his real mettle as a judge given the assignment system in the High Court. 

But as all of us know, it was after his retirement as a judge of the Bombay High Court that he excelled himself. More accurately, given the opportunity, Justice Suresh blossomed. It was an unconventional thing for to do to be so active after retirement with civil society, but then he was not conventional man in his approach to human rights. All those qualities that I have mentioned earlier held him in good stead during the 30 long years of his work as a beacon of Human Rights. While others want to really retire after their official retirement, the impatient, uncompromising nature and his passionate commitment to issues of injustice would not let him to do that. Nay, he was most happy in doing that. And he did all that very well. 

He took up all causes that he was approached on. For him there was no saying no. He went on all fact-finding missions with a zeal. He was able to do the fact finding and prepare a report with expedition. Most of all his reports were easy to read.  With him, Human Rights defenders felt safe. As others have written, he became a shield for the Human Rights communities. He excelled in his work. Recently, rating judges of the Supreme Court has been a butt of controversy. But I can say with confidence that if we were to rate Justice Suresh about his post retirement work, we would all rate him as A+++, A triple plus. 

Friends and comrades, Justice Suresh has departed from amidst us at a time which is precarious for India and her constitutional order. Almost all of us are in some way or other are involved in ensuring that India’s constitutional order is preserved. All his life Justice Suresh strived to do just that. In a conversation with Teesta, Henri mentioned that we would all remember Justice Suresh through our work. It is propitious that Justice Suresh has brought us together. It would be in the fitness of things that all of us meet on a regular basis to feed into and help in each other’s work. Though we are all doing excellent work on our own, we are doing so in our silos. In his work Justice Suresh helped us all. Though it is not a conventional thing to do in an obsequious ceremony, like Justice Suresh let me be unconventional and propose that to continue the legacy of Justice Suresh we start meeting in a Human Rights conference to be held annually. 

We shall miss you dearly, Justice Suresh and miss your passion, your commitment to your beliefs and your energy which moved not only you but which rubbed off onto others. We assure you that we shall carry forth your legacy in dedicating ourselves all the more to the cause of Human Rights, no doubt each in our own way but hopefully together so that the vision of India enshrined in the Preamble to our Constitution that you cherished so much:

Justice, social, economic and political;

Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

Equality of status and of opportunity;

Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and unity and integrity of the country remains with her people and is not usurped from them.

Related:

Adieu Justice Suresh: His voice was his conscience 

Remembering Hosbet Suresh: A voice for the voiceless and my chamber mate of 37 years 

Former Bombay HC judge Hosbet Suresh passes away

The post Remembering Hosbet Suresh: With him, Human Rights defenders felt safe appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On Thursday, June 11, 2020, India lost one of its brightest legal minds and an exemplary defender of human rights, Justice Hosbet Suresh (retd). The former judge of the Bombay High Court, Justice Suresh, continued to play a stellar role in standing up for the people of India even after retirement in 1991. He was part of key Public Commissions and Tribunals as he investigated flagrant human rights violations including the Bombay riots (1992-93) and the Gujarat pogrom (2002) among others.

In a tribute to Justice Suresh’s exceptional life and work, civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad hosted a virtual condolence meeting accompanied by Justice A.P. Shah, prominent civil rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan, sociologist and lawyer Kalpana Kannabiran, senior counsel and human rights lawyer Mihir Desai and Executive Director of People’s Watch Henri Tiphagne on June 12, 2020, remembering his contributions to deepen constitutional and democratic values, his sense of compassionate justice and his unrelenting enthusiastic outlook.

Teesta Setalvad, Secretary of Citizens of Justice and Peace (CJP) who was then convener of the Concerned Citizens Tribunal – Crimes Against Humanity, 2002 headed by Justice Suresh among other retired Supreme Court and High Court judges, recounted her conversation with a senior lawyer from Mumbai about Justice Suresh’s passing who said that all of them felt safe with judges like Justice Suresh around because the values of the Constitution were respected where they ought to be. She said, “Justice Suresh believed that fundamental rights are human rights which should reach the last person on the street, but at the end of the street.”

Henry Tiphagne, ED – People’s Watch, who worked closely with Justice Suresh as part of the fact finding team on the alleged Seshachalam Reserve Forest encounter which saw the killing of 20 men said it was difficult to hear of Justice Suresh’s passing. He said, “Justice Suresh used to proudly tell us that he was guilty of doing much in Tamil Nadu and not that much in Maharashtra. On all issues of human rights violations – for fact findings on very difficult terrains, on issues of coastal shrimp farms halting, on issues of violence against fishermen, Dalits and Adivasis, police excesses, Justice Suresh was there. Public hearings and fact findings were his forte. What moved us about Justice Suresh was that he was always there for victims of violence.”

Recounting the time he and Justice Suresh went as part of the fact-finding exercise to the Tirupati forests and were stopped from entering by the Forest Department, Tiphagne said that Justice Suresh told him, “Henry, we are not moving from here. We are standing here. We will wait till their top official comes and lets us in.” Tiphagne added that the Constitution of India, the courts of India, public hearings and the establishment of new standards always urged him to say ‘yes’ in spite of all difficulties he had to undergo.

Tiphagne said that he would always remember Justice Suresh as a friend and as a ‘living’ judge. Visibly emotional he concluded his message saying, “I want to tell you Justice Suresh, we will continue to communicate with you through our actions. You will continue to live with us forever.”

Kalpana Kannabiran, who worked with Justice Hosbet Suresh as part of the People’s Commission on Shrinking Democratic Space (PCSDS) which formed a people’s tribunal to respond to the challenges faced by higher educational institutions said, “I have several very fond memories of Justice Suresh. My association with Justice Suresh goes back to his association with my father. They were both born in 1929 and had several similarities of manner, especially in the way they would both emotionally and passionately agitate over an issue and attempt to convince you of a standpoint that might not have occurred to you at all.”

Kannabiran recalled how she heard accounts of the Gujarat 2002 tribunal of which Justice Suresh and her parents were a part of. On her own fact-finding teams that she was on with Justice Suresh, especially when they visited Singrauli for a Greenpeace report, Kalpana spoke about his enormous energy, his unparalleled acumen and quiet observation. She remembered how Justice Suresh only put emphasis on the understanding of the issue of displacement on the site in terms of the Constitution, adding that being studying under judges like Justice Suresh was an extremely educative experience and was a way of understanding the law as rooted in human empathy. Citing a statement by Justice Suresh in an article he wrote for Outlook, “Judicial integrity is not just a private virtue but a public necessity,” Kannabiran said that in 2020 this was really what the judiciary needed to be reminded of.

Mihir Desai, senior advocate of the Bombay High Court who also had a long association with Justice Suresh spoke about his first experience as a young lawyer when he encountered Justice Suresh during a case about slum demolition. He recalled how his rehearsed arguments were cut short by Justice Suresh who put a stay on the demolitions. Desai said, “Justice Suresh had an immense passion for justice, which was completely unshackled once he retired in 1991 and started with the Kaveri riots, Bombay riots and other public hearings and people’s tribunals. His enthusiasm and optimism never died – this was very remarkable about him.”

Desai emphasised on Justice Suresh’s outspokenness and his willingness to confront and take a stand on any issue, no matter how unpopular it was. He said that Justice Suresh believed that the underprivileged found it difficult to access justice, which is why he made sure he went to the public and brought out their voices and their plight. Desai said, “It is a great loss. There are very few people who are so active to the causes of human rights and the people even almost 25 to 30 years post retirement,” recalling how Justice Suresh was the first to rule that communal speeches would lead politicians to be disqualified from being elected.

Prashant Bhushan, noted civil rights activist and Supreme Court advocate who also worked extensively with Justice Suresh on the Hyderabad Tribunal said, “Justice Suresh was willing to stand up for every cause of getting justice to the victims of injustice. His life after retirement is far more valuable as there are very few judges who start engaging with public issues after retirement and he was one of those few. He was willing to walk the extra mile. Though he was very soft spoken, he was very firm.”

Recalling their work on the Hyderabad Tribunal where they were examining the victimization of people being investigated for terror offences he said, “We came to the conclusion that there was clearly an anti-Muslim bias in those investigations. This was more than a decade ago. Today, we need many more people like Justice Suresh. He had a full innings and we will be inspired by all his qualities.”

Justice AP Shah, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court who was also among the panel of the PCSDS with Justice Suresh and was part of the People’s Tribunal on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) said, “Justice Hosbet Suresh was one of the few giants on whose shoulders the civil rights movement of India today stands. Though he was on the HC bench only for about 5 years, as a judge he was most equitable, fair, humane and hardworking.”

Speaking of his own experience of appearing before Justice Suresh in court, Justice AP Shah said, “It was unfortunate I never got to work on the bench with him. He was one of the finest judges of his time,” recounting Justice Suresh’s work against forced demolitions and forced evictions in Mumbai.

Recalling a concave Justice AP Shah had organized for sitting judges where Justice Suresh was speaking on the matter of forced evictions, criticizing the judgments of the Bombay HC and how some judges complained of Justice Suresh’s strong remarks. Justice Shah said, “That was his signature style. He never minced any words and became very persuasive to prove his point. He was honest, sincere, blunt and forthright and at the same time very kind, affectionate and unassuming. With his passing, the Indian human rights movement has lost an influential intellectual and an inspirational human being. His loss will be felt greatly. The least we can do is keep the human rights flame ignited by Justice Suresh, burning for times to come.”

 The attendees of the condolence meeting recounted some humorous anecdotes around Justice Suresh’s life and career. Teesta Setalvad for whom he was like a mentor, concluded the condolence meeting saying, “One of his favourite lines was, “When I used to sit on the bench, I used to say ‘My voice is my conscience’, because I would dictate my judgments loud enough for the last person in the room to hear.””

Justice Hosbet Suresh was a Bombay HC judge from 1986 till 1991. As an activist his causes ranged from women rights, to rights of street dwellers, Adivasi rights, food scarcity and other injustices on the downtrodden of the country. The country and its human rights defenders will never forget the invaluable contributions of Justice Hosbet Suresh who rallied against injustice till his last breath.

Related:

Former Bombay HC judge Hosbet Suresh no more

A trend-setting judgement – Justice Hosbet Suresh

EXCLUSIVE: The Govt is out to silence Dissenters through Arrests: Justice Hosbet Suresh

The post Adieu Justice Suresh: His voice was his conscience appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On June 11, 2020, high-pitched, shrill voice, crying for justice was silenced by icy hands of death.  Justice Hosbet Suresh breathed his last on this day. His loud and shrill voice expressed the agony of oppressed and marginalised people who suffered injustice but silently bore the humiliation of suffering oppression.  He was the voice of the voiceless. Whenever I heard his voice either as a sitting judge or after his retirement as the ardent advocate of preservation of human rights, I am reminded of the couplet by noted Urdu poet Amir Minai. 

He said,

“khanjar chale kisi pey, tadapte hain hum amir,

sarey jahan ka dard hamarey jigar mein hai”. 

It can be translated in English as,

“When anyone is stabbed with dagger, I feel the pain, O Amir!. 

My heart is full of compassion for the agony of the whole humanity.” 

Justice Suresh carried that pain in his heart for the whole humanity which suffered in silence pangs of oppression and injustice.

He was always at the frontline of the activists giving expression to the victims whether of the communal riots during December 1992 and January 1993 or linguistic riots known as Cauvery riots.  He spoke and actively worked against the forced eviction of slum dwellers in 1995, caste atrocities in Chennai in 2000 and again the voice of the victims of 2002 Gujarat genocide, police killings of Dalits in Thambiraparani, unjustified firing of tribals in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, and any issue affecting the right to life which is the basis of all the human rights.  He had the clear understanding of working of democracy.  It was his clear foresight that even a democratically elected leader sooner degenerates into a dictator.  There are many dictators who were democratically elected.  To prevent such abuse of democracy, it is necessary that civil society should be vigilant and have the culture of questioning legislative and executive actions by critically examining the same and protesting against any legislative/executive action which infringes the basic human rights of the citizens.  He therefore never wavered from protesting against the draconian laws like TADA, POTA or UAPA. 

As a sitting judge, he wrote some memorable judgements.  His judgement relating to purification of the electoral laws needs special mention.  He showed courage to pen the judgement setting aside election fought by the winning candidate by making an appeal on religious grounds.  He thus upheld the value of secularism as enshrined in the Constitution and statutory electoral laws. But as the human rights activist, his enormous contribution was to develop culture of public hearings, fact finding committees, commissions and tribunals on variety of human rights violation against the depressed sections of the society.  A special mention must be made of the way he pioneered the whole system of public hearing of the victims of the 1992 riots in then known as Bombay.  Late Justice Daud and Suresh formed a committee to find out the truth of the riots that occurred in Bombay at that time and this was the first committee of its kind which spoke to the victims directly and engaged in the quest to find out the truth of the happenings of the event.  This committee gave its report expeditiously within a year of the happening of the riots in Bombay as then known.  At that time the commission of enquiry headed by Justice B. N. Srikrishna also worked ceaselessly by holding elaborate enquiry into the incidents of the December riots of 1992 in Bombay.  It is interesting to note that the findings given by the committee of Justice Daud and Justice Suresh and the ultimate findings given by the Justice B. N. Srikrishna commission were consistent and there was no disagreement between the two.  In other words, all the findings given by the committee of Justice Suresh and Justice Daud were upheld by Justice Srikrishna commission report and both arrived at the same findings without any divergence of opinion.  This proves the effectiveness of the people’s committee to investigate the truth by listening to the grievances of the people who were directly affected by the acts of atrocities committed on them.  This experience was again repeated during the 2002 Gujarat genocide where Justice Suresh was also one of the members of the people’s tribunal and they gave the report entitled “Crime Against Humanity”.  Thereafter, Justice Suresh was in great demand to be a part of the committees to address the grievances of the public on any issue relating to human rights.

Justice Suresh was my chamber colleague for 37 years.  I had the privilege of listening to his experience and have always benefited by his erudition and knowledge of law.  It is difficult to fill the void created by his absence.  It is undoubtedly a public loss, but I also feel private loss as I have lost a dear friend.

*The writer is a senior advocate at the Bombay High Court and president of Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR)

Related:

Former Bombay HC judge Hosbet Suresh no more
A trend-setting judgement – Justice Hosbet Suresh
EXCLUSIVE: The Govt is out to silence Dissenters through Arrests: Justice Hosbet Suresh

The post Remembering Hosbet Suresh: A voice for the voiceless and my chamber mate of 37 years appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Justice Hosbet Suresh (retd), who had set new standards for human rights jurisprudence in the country with his unwavering commitment to justice for all, passed away on June 11, 2020. The beloved former judge of the Bombay High Court was best known for being part of several key Public Commissions and Tribunals post retirement, investigating some of the most heinous human rights violations including the Kaveri riots, the Bombay riots, the Gujarat pogrom and many others.
 

Early life and legal career

Justice Suresh was born in Hosbet, Surathkal in Karnataka on July 20, 1929. He obtained his B.A from Mangalore University and M.A from Visvesvaraya Technological University in Belgaum. He obtained his LLM from Bombay University. In November 1953, he enrolled as an advocate in the Bombay High Court. Subsequently, he also started teaching part-time at Government Law College and KC Law College.

Between 1967 and 1968, Suresh was Assistant Government Pleader in the Bombay City Civil and Sessions Court. He was appointed a judge of the Bombay City Court and Additional Sessions Judge, Greater Bombay on November 29, 1968. In October 1979 he was promoted to Second Additional Principal Judge of the Bombay City Civil and Sessions Court. But on June 23, 1980, Suresh resigned and began to practice as an advocate at the Bombay High Court. In 1982 he was designated Senior Advocate of the High Court.

He returned to the judiciary, on November 21, 1986 taking office as Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court. On June 12, 1987 was appointed permanent Judge of the Bombay High Court. Justice Suresh retired from the High Court on July 19, 1991.

Human Rights work post retirement

After his retirement Justice Suresh was appointed along with Justice Tewatia in December 1991 to investigate the Kaveri riots that took place in Bangalore. Thereafter, he was appointed by the Indian People’s Human Rights Commission to investigate the Bombay riots of December 1992 and January 1993 along with retired senior advocate SM Daud. They published their findings in a report titled The People’s Verdict. He also investigated, along with SM Daud and Rajinder Sachar, the forced eviction of slum-dwellers in Mumbai in January 1995. They published their findings in August 1995 in a report titled Forced Evictions – An Indian People’s Tribunal Enquiry into the Brutal Demolitions of Pavement and Slum Dwellers’ Homes.

But perhaps his most significant investigation was when he was a part of an Indian People’s Tribunal fact-finding team along with former Supreme Court justice PB Sawant looking into the 2002 Gujarat genocide. The team led by former SC judge V. R. Krishna Iyer went to Gujarat in March and April 2002, and gathered over 2,000 oral and written testimonies. The team also met with several senior police officers and government officials and documented their findings in a report titled Crime Against Humanity.

In subsequent years, Justice Suresh made several shocking revelations and key observations about the Gujarat genocide. For example, in February 2012, he said that it was slain former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya who told the fact-finding team that it was none other than Narendra Modi, who was the Gujarat Chief Minister at the time of the carnage, who told top police officials not to restrain Hindus engaging in anti-Muslim violence.

Writing exclusively for SabrangIndia’s predecessor Communalism Combat in May 2004, after the Supreme Court ordered fresh investigation into the Best Bakery case and trial outside Gujarat, Justice Suresh observed, “The Supreme Court’s judgement in the Best Bakery case, ordering fresh investigation and trial outside Gujarat, is not only a severe indictment of the prevailing administration of criminal justice in Gujarat, but also a trend-setter to indicate as to what can be done by concerned citizens and a pro-active apex court in such a situation. What happened in Gujarat was nothing but fraud — fraud on law. It was a farce of a trial. The investigation was deliberately dishonest and faulty, and perfunctory.” 

Suresh was also involved in drafting the proposed Prevention of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity Act 2004.

Justice Suresh will always be remembered as one of the brightest lights of the legal fraternity and a true defender of human rights.

Related:

A trend-setting judgement – Justice Hosbet Suresh

A Murder Most Foul: How Haren Pandya was silenced

EXCLUSIVE: The Govt is out to silence Dissenters through Arrests: Justice Hosbet Suresh

The post Former Bombay HC judge Hosbet Suresh passes away appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The unbriddled expansion of industry in this belt that stretches from Vapi in Valsad district to Nadesari in Varodara in complete violation of environmental controls and norms is the subject matter of a recent investigation conducted by the Indian People’s Tribunal that released its report last month. This inquiry was held in response to the requests from Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Vadodara Kamdar Union, Vyavasahik Swastha Swaksha Mandal and other concerned individuals and organisations active in the area. The inquiry was headed by Justice Suresh, retired High Court judge, assisted by a panel of experts: environmental lawyers, community health specialists, occupational health specialists and scientists.

The eleven–member team visited various areas in the Corridor to examine the effects of indiscriminate industrialisation and the resultant pollution of air, water and land by noxious gases, toxic chemical effluents and other hazardous substances, which have both destroyed the livelihood sources of the local population but have also posed a grave threat to their health and lives. The local population in all the industrialised areas has recorded a loss in livelihood in terms of the loss in agricultural and horticultural produce and in fish stocks, especially in the inland water bodies.

In addition, the IPT also inquired into the occupational health and safety of workers in some specific industries where blatant violations of safety norms have caused serious damage to the workers’ health.

Gujarat has rolled out the red carpet for industrial investment with little or no consideration for environmental norms.
The report, documents how Proper Environmental Impact Assessments were not carried out, the hazardous solid waste and toxic effluents that are spewed out are not being monitored neither is the disposal of such waste given any attention. At most places, the report states, there is no pollution control equipment and whatever efforts have been made to provide for the control of pollution have been half-hearted and ineffective. Moreover, no consideration was given to the fact that the industrial estates were dangerously close to human settlements. The IPT team observed several instances of blatant violations.

For instance, 50 lakh metric tonnes of chalk, loaded with heavy metals, was found lying illegally in a village without any impervious layer to prevent its seepage into groundwater sources and soil. In the monsoons of 1997 and 1998, this chalk hill slid and gushed into the several houses of the village.

In another instance, the Effluent Channel Project carrying effluents of nearly 150 industries, running 56 kms in length and passing through 24 villages is used as irrigation water due to an acute shortage has resulted in the spread of heavy metal contamination of the food chain throughout the 24 villages.An overwhelming 61 per cent of the factory units in Ankleshwar alone were found by the investigators to have “unsatisfactory working conditions” as defined under the Factories Act, 1948. Thus, the “potential of a major environmental accident endangering the lives of thousands of workers and the general public residing in the vicinity is hanging like a Damocles sword over the entire Corridor.” The Indian People’s Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights (IPT) was launched on June 5, 1993 at a National Conference on Human Rights, Environment and the Law held in Bangalore. The mandate of the IPT is to highlight environmental and human rights violations, both by the state and private parties, and give voice to the struggles of grass root organisations and affected communities. The IPT endeavours to place before the public and the authorities a factual picture of the ground realities, based on objective investigation by experts.

Archived from Communalism Combat, January 2000. Year 7  No, 55, Human Rights 1

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