New Delhi: The Pahalgam attack stands as yet another grim reminder of how terrorism continues to “stain humanity”, says the NHRC while stating that it registered 58,753 rights cases across the country from last April to March this year.
In the latest edition of its newsletter — ‘Human Rights’ — the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also expressed deepest condolences to the families who suffered the “irreparable loss of their loved ones” in the April 22 attack, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
In the May edition of the newsletter, NHRC’s Secretary General Bharat Lal recalls in the opening piece the dastardly terror attack that left the nation benumbed and has drawn condemnation from multiple countries and various heads of state.
“On 22 April, 2025, the world was left reeling after a heinous terrorist attack in the Pahalgam region of Jammu & Kashmir, where 26 innocent tourists were brutally killed after being identified by their faith,” Lal says in the newsletter.
“This barbaric act stands (as) yet another grim reminder of how terrorism continues to stain humanity. Our deepest condolences go out to the families who have suffered the irreparable loss of their loved ones,” the piece reads.
Lal further writes that the NHRC has strongly condemned the attack and urged decisive action, demanding accountability, swift justice for the perpetrators and comprehensive support for the victims’ families.
The newsletter also carries the statement that was issued by the commission in the wake of the terror attack.
“The time has come to act against those aiding, abetting, supporting and advancing terrorism, and to hold them accountable for this menace,” the April 25 statement said.
The Murshidabad riots also find a mention in the opening piece of the 40-page newsletter.
“A few days before this incident, another major human catastrophe broke out in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, wherein riots were reported, causing loss of life and property and exodus of people to the adjoining Malda district. The commission deputed a team of its senior functionaries for an on-spot enquiry into the matter,” it reads.
The NHRC, established on October 12, 1993, under the Protection of Human Rights Act, has been a guardian of human rights for over three decades.
In its newsletter, the commission also shared some data about the number of human rights cases registered and disposed of by it from April 2024 to March 2025.
“The Commission registered a total of 58,753 cases, including 99 cases initiated suo motu based on media reports, 1,987 of deaths in judicial custody, 140 of deaths in police custody and 120 cases of deaths in police encounters,” it says.
The top 10 categories of human rights complaints due to the “action, omission and inaction by various public authorities” were in the matters of trouble by anti-social elements (7,318), failure in taking lawful action (4,192), abuse of power (3,102), land dispute (2,987), deaths in judicial custody (1,987), inaction by the public authorities (1,628), matrimonial disputes (1,620), family disputes (1,598), intimidation/threatening/extortion by anti-social elements and land grabbing (1,364), the NHRC says.
A total of 55,821 cases were disposed of, including carry-forward cases from the previous year (during the period from April 2024 to March 2025), it adds.
Monetary relief amounting to Rs 13.45 crore was recommended to the victims or their next of kin in 332 cases.
“Spot investigations were conducted in 23 cases and analysis was carried out in 1,480 cases of deaths in judicial custody, 236 cases of deaths in police custody and 185 cases of deaths in encounter. Besides, 202 cases were those in which the Commission, through its investigation team, found the facts in the wake of various allegations,” the rights panel says.
Among its many impactful actions during the year, the NHRC says in the newsletter, it made several “notable interventions” in cases of serious human rights violations across the country.
“These included addressing the ongoing violence and rights abuses in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal, and exposing anti-labour practices at a multinational company’s warehouse in Manesar, Haryana,” it says.
Through timely notices and active engagement with the authorities concerned, the NHRC said, the commission pushed for accountability and justice.
The newsletter also carried details about cases received in April this year.
The number of fresh complaints received stood at 4,829 while the number of cases disposed of, including old cases, stood at 3,207.
The number of cases under consideration of the NHRC stood at 12,325, according to the newsletter.
