The Madurai Bench of the Madras HC said that the report can be sent to the court in a sealed manner if it contains sensitive information.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday, June 25, directed the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to disclose its investigation report on the police firing amid the Sterlite protests in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi in May 2018. The High Court bench issued notice to the NHRC and the state government while hearing a plea on the matter. Henri Tiphagne, an Executive Director of People’s Watch, had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the closure of the suo motu case taken by NHRC in October 2018, LiveLaw reported.
Hearing the PIL, the bench comprising Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice TS Sivagnam, directed the NHRC to forward the investigation report to the court in a sealed manner, if the report contains sensitive matter. The bench further directed the state government to file a counter plea to Tiphagne’s petition. Further, the Chief Justice observed how alarming it is that the state allowed police personnel to open fire against unarmed protestors at the time, and that even three years later, no action has been taken against them. The case was adjourned to August 9.
Citing both environmental and livelihood damages, several people living around the Vedanta Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi demanded its closure. However, on May 22, 2018, the protests turned violent, prompting police to open fire on unarmed civilians. At least 13 people were killed in the firing, marking a tragic day in the state’s history.
In February 2021, the Tamil Nadu government appointed a one-member commission to probe the incident, led by retired High Court judge Aruna Jagadeesan. In total, 918 people were reportedly examined in the first 24 sittings, of whom 617 were questioned by the commission itself. Eight hundred and fifty documents were marked till the last sitting of the commission, according to a TOI report from February 2021.
Read: Nearly 3 years after Thoothukudi firings, inquiry commission submits report to TN CM
Source: The News Minute