In a significant ruling, a Full Bench (comprising three judges) of the Madras High Court has held that recommendations made by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), after a full-fledged inquiry into allegations of human rights violations, are binding on the government and that they are legally enforceable immediately.
Justices S. Vaidyanathan, V. Parthiban and M. Sundar ruled that the State could not choose to ignore the recommendations and that the only remedy available to it would be to approach the High Court seeking judicial review of the recommendations. The authoritative ruling was made while answering a reference made to the Bench.
The judges said SHRC could also approach the High Court for enforcement of its recommendations if the government fails to enforce them within a month or a larger time-frame fixed by the commission. The government could not oppose such a case filed by SHRC unless it had also filed a petition to review the recommendations.
The Full Bench…