To,
1- Shri A. K. Parashar
National
Focal Point - Human Rights Defenders & Joint Registrar
National
Human Rights Commission
Manav
Adhikar Bhawan,
Block-C,
GPO Complex, INA,
New
Delhi – 110 023
2- The Acting Chairperson
National
Human Rights Commission,
Manav
Adhikar Bhawan,
Block-C,
GPO Complex, INA,
New
Delhi – 110 023
3- Special Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights defenders,
Mr.
Michel Forst
c/o
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights – Palais Wilson
United
Nations Office at Geneva
CH 1211
Geneva 10
Switzerland
4- Chief Information Commissioner
Room
No.339, II Floor,
August
Kranti Bhavan
Bhikaji
Cama Place
New
Delhi - 110 066.
5- UTTAR PRADESH STATE HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMISSION
Manav
Adhikar Bhawan
TC-34,
V-1, Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar
Lucknow-226010
6- Sri Ram Naik
Hon’ble
Governor of Uttar Pradesh
Luncknow,Uttar
Pradesh.
7- Shri Akhilesh Yadav
Hon’ble
Chief Minister,Govt. of Uttar Pradesh,
Luncknow,Uttar
Pradesh.
8- Sri Javed Usmani, State Chief Information
Commissioner
Through
The
Secretary, Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission
6th
Floor,Indira Bhavan,Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh
9- Shri Alok
Ranjan,
Chief
Secretary, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh,
Lucknow,Uttar
Pradesh
10- Director General of Police,
Police
Headquarters,No.1, Tilak Marg,
Lucknow –
226001,Uttar Pradesh.
11- District Magistrate
Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh
12- Superintendent of Police
Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh
Reference
No.: YSS/20160115/HRD-RTI-UP/C-12 Dated
: 15-01-2016
Sub. : Urgent Appeal RE. ill
treatment, verbal abuse and physical assault on
RTI activist and human rights defender Mr.
Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui
allegedly by the
Uttar Pradesh State Information
Commissioner, Mr.
Arvind Singh Bisht
Sir/Madam,
Yaishwaryaj Seva Sansthan is a Lucknow based NGO engaged
in various social activities for the last 15 years.We are writing to express
our grave concern regarding the ill treatment, verbal abuse and physical
assault on RTI activist and human rights defender Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui
allegedly by the Uttar Pradesh State Information Commissioner, Mr.
Arvind Singh Bisht for demanding information through Right to Information
Act in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on 11 January, 2016. The RTI activist Mr. Tanveer
Ahmed Siddiqui was beaten up at the Commissioner’s office and was also detained
at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.
Status of Human Rights Defender:
Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui is an
RTI Activist and a social worker who has been working to fight against human
rights violations of the under privileged classes in Uttar Pradesh for the past
sixteen years. He has filed over 400 RTI applications so far. Mr. Tanveer Ahmed
Siddiqui has been successful in getting the roads constructed under the Indira
Awas and Lohiya Awas areas of Lucknow through his consistent efforts. He has
been assisting the labourers and the poor to avail facilities such as roads,
ration cards and housing through his complaints which were then later turned
into RTI applications.
Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui has
been actively involved in social work since 2000. He started filing RTI queries
in 2006 and he also runs a local vernacular newspaper on his own since 2009 called
‘Lucknow Ka Abhiman’. Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui was also involved in the
activism and protest marches for seeking justice for the family of Mr. Guru
Prasad, another RTI activist in Bahraich who was killed earlier in 2015. Mr.
Tanveer Ahmed Siqqudui has been leading the protest marches to demand
compensation for the slain RTI activist since 12 October 2015 to 25 October
2015.
Date of incident:
11 January 2016
Place of incident:
Uttar Pradesh State Information
Commission, Indira Bhawan, Ashoka Road, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Source of Information on the
Incident:
Newspapers, Self Discussions with Mr. Tanveer Ahmad Siddiqui
The Perpetrators:
Mr. Arvind Singh Bisht, State
Information Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh
Details of the Incident:
Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui was
called to the Information Commission’s office on 11 January 2016 for pending
RTI matters by the Information Commissioner himself, Mr. Arvind Singh Bisht. It
is alleged that he was harassed, threatened, verbally and physically assaulted in
the office by Mr. Arvind Singh Bisht along with his security guards as well the
peons present at the time.
The very same day on 11 January
2016, Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui had an appointment at 4.00 PM with the
Governor of Uttar Pradesh as a part of a 5 member delegation of Lucknow based
YAISHWARYAJ SEVA SANSTHAN to discuss exploitation of info-seekers at the hands
of State Information Commissioners. This
delegation, led by me, later met Governor without Mr. Tanveer as he was in
illegal detention by police and was released only after intervention of UP
Governor Sri Ram Naik on my request made before the governor that day. He had also been demanding videography and
recording of the Information Commission and the Commissioner to find out what
action they are taking as they do not provide information but give him dates
every time they are approached for any RTI matter. Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui
was called at the Information Commission at 1.00 PM on 11 January, 2016 to be
questioned by the Commissioner, Mr. Arvind Singh Bisht. Instead of discussing
the RTI matters, Mr. Arvind Singh Bisht along with his security guards and
peons started physically assaulting Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui while
simultaneously verbally abusing him as well as harassing and threatening him by
saying that he is the father in law of the Chief Minster’s brother, so he can
do anything and that Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui should immediately stop filing
RTIs.
The Commissioner even called the
police at his office and physically assaulted Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui in
front of the police as well, proving that he indeed is capable of doing
anything he pleases and holds political power. Fortunately, Mr. Tanveer Ahmed
Siddiqui has not suffered any serious injuries.
Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui was
then taken to the Hazrat Ganj Police Station of Lucknow, he was detained there
for a few hours but was released at 5.00 PM, and his FIR has not been lodged
yet. The police refused to lodge the FIR saying that they cannot register a
complaint against a powerful man like Mr. Arvind Singh Bisht.
Appeal:
We, therefore urge you to
immediately take necessary steps to ensure that your office :
i- Orders an immediate, thorough,
transparent, effective, independent and impartial investigation into the above
mentioned incident of the ill treatment, verbal abuse and physical assault on
RTI activist and human rights defender Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui;
ii- Takes immediate action on the
alleged perpetrators as mentioned above for the ill treatment and physically
assaulting the human rights defender, Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui and using all
provisions of law to ensure that his physical safety is ensured and provide a
re-assurance of not engaging in such acts against HRDs such as Mr. Tanveer
Ahmed Siddiqui;
iii- Along with local district
officials guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological
integrity of the defender Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui who still faces the risks
of further reprisals by the perpetrators;
iv- Ensures provision of reparation,
compensation, apology to the defender for the psychological sufferings he is
undergoing because of the assault and give this assurance to the NHRC of India
in writing immediately and urgently;
v- Puts an end to all acts of attack
and harassment against all RTI activists and all human rights defenders in
Uttar Pradesh to ensure that in all circumstances they carry out their
activities as defenders of human rights without any hindrances;
vi- Ensures the right to seek
information guaranteed by the RTI Act and the Article 21 of the Constitution of
India which guarantees personal liberty;
vii-
Takes steps to conform to the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human
Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on
December 9, 1998, especially:
viii-
Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in
association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and
realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and
international levels; & Article 12.2, which provides that “"the State
shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent
authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against
any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination,
pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her
legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
ix- Recommends urgently and speedily
during the pendency of this complaint, the SHRC in Uttar Pradesh to also take
necessary steps to establish a state focal point for HRDs in order to ensure
that HRDs have a new protection mechanism in their own state;
x- Recommends urgently and speedily
during the pendency of this complaint, the NHRC to convene a meeting of all
state human rights institutions in the state [the SHRC, the SCW, the SCPCR, the
SCM, the SIC, State Commissioner for PWDs..etc] to ensure that a co-ordinated
strategy is developed within the State of Uttar Pradesh for the protection of
the rights of human rights defenders;
xi- Recommends urgently and speedily
during the pendency of this complaint, the State Government of Uttar Pradesh in
collaboration with the NHRC Focal Point on HRDs and the SHRC Uttar Pradesh to
provide sensitization training to law enforcement and security forces on the
role and activities of human rights defenders as a matter of priority, with
technical advice and assistance from relevant United Nations entities, NGOs and
other partners;
xii-
Recommends urgently and speedily during the pendency of this complaint, the
State Government of Uttar Pradesh in collaboration with the SHRC, Uttar Pradesh
to publicly acknowledge the importance and legitimacy of the work of human
rights defenders, i.e. anyone who, “individually and in association with others,
... promote[s] and ... strive[s] for the protection and realization of human
rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”
(Art.1 of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders);
xiii-
More generally, ensures in all circumstances the respect for human rights
and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and with international human rights instruments ratified by India is
strictly adhered to in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Yours
sincerely,
( Urvashi
Sharma )
Secretary
- YAISHWARYAJ Seva
Sansthan
State
President (U.P.) – Jan Journalist Association
Joint
Secretary -
Society for Fast Justice Lucknow
Vice
Chairman - Save
Cultural Values Foundation
102,Narayan
Tower, Opposite F block Idgah
Rajajipuram,Lucknow-226017,Uttar
Pradesh,India
Right
to Information
Helpline +91 8081898081
Helpline
against Corruption +91 9455553838
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