Noise pollution? Seek money from govt: HC Common entrance test likely for all central varsities

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) cannot investigate alleged excesses by armed forces in militancy-affected areas such as Manipur and Jammu & Kashmir as the panel is only a recommendatory body, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi also turned down the NHRC’s offer to probe more than 1,500 alleged extra-judicial killings in Manipur and said even the top court cannot “transplant” any powers on the panel.

“It amounts to judicial legislation and will have a deleterious effect on the Army fighting against all odds in difficult terrain,” Rohatgi told a bench of justices MB Loukur and UU Lalit.

In July, the court had held that the alleged extra-judicial killings by Army and Manipur police required a thorough probe. However, there was no decision which agency will conduct the probe.

Activists have long been demanding scrapping of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, enforced in parts of the Northeast and Kashmir, alleging rampant human rights violations by security forces under the immunity granted to them by the law.

NHRC counsel Gopal Subramanium said: “If there are abrogation of human rights, then accountability has to be fixed on the erring personnel. Here there is no accountability”.

Citizens can claim compensation from the state if their complaints about noise pollution have gone unheard, the Bombay high court said.

A division bench of justice Abhay Oka and justice Amjad Sayed said the failure of law enforcement agencies in implementing noise pollution rules was a violation of a citizen’s fundamental right.

The order, issued on August 16, was published on the court’s website on September 5. The court will hear the matter again on October 4 to discuss details about the compensation citizens can claim.

“We hold that any breach of the Noise Pollution Rules shall amount infringement of fundamental right of citizens under the Article 21 of the Constitution of India and apart from the other remedies available, the citizens will have right to seek compensation from the state within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India on account of breach of fundamental rights,” read the order.

The Union human resource development ministry is exploring the option of introducing a common entrance test for all central universities, a move that will end the unrealistic high cutoffs for admission, recorded often in Delhi University. Several Delhi University colleges declare 100% marks as cutoff to study popular courses such as mathematics, economics, and history. Many students seeking admission miss out by a whisker despite having impressive marks — such as 95% — in their Class 12 school exam. The proposed admission procedure will put all students on an equal footing as everyone will be tested through a common examination.