RTI for UP State Human Rights Commission — Complaint Status and Inquiry Proceedings

Uttar Pradesh is one of India's most populous states and also one where complaints of human rights violations — custodial deaths, encounter killings, atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, bonded labour in brick kilns and the carpet industry, child labour, violence against women, and arbitrary detention — are persistently documented. The Uttar Pradesh State Human Rights Commission (UPSHRC) exists precisely to address these violations. Established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, it provides citizens a statutory forum to bring complaints against the officials of the UP state government, including its vast police apparatus.

Yet one of the most common grievances among people who have filed complaints with UPSHRC is the same as it is with human rights commissions across India: after the complaint is filed, silence descends. Weeks pass, then months, without any acknowledgement of whether the complaint was registered, whether notices were sent to the accused officials, whether any inquiry was ordered, or whether UPSHRC intends to act at all.

The Right to Information Act, 2005 provides a direct remedy. UPSHRC is a public authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, and it is legally obligated to disclose information about its functioning, its proceedings in individual cases, its orders and recommendations, and its compliance records. An RTI application to UPSHRC is often the fastest and most reliable way to find out exactly what has happened to your complaint — and to create a documented record that makes future accountability possible.

What is UPSHRC and What Does It Do

The Uttar Pradesh State Human Rights Commission is constituted under Section 21 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (PHRA 1993). The Commission is headed by a Chairperson who must be a retired Chief Justice of a High Court, and may include one or more Members who are retired judges of a High Court. The Chairperson and Members are appointed by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh on the recommendation of a committee chaired by the Chief Minister and including the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the Home Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition.

Jurisdiction: UPSHRC has jurisdiction over acts or omissions by officers of the Uttar Pradesh state government, its departments, and state-funded authorities that amount to a violation or abetment of a violation of human rights. Human rights under the PHRA 1993 means the rights to life, liberty, equality, and dignity guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the international conventions scheduled to the Act — including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

Powers: The Commission may:

• Inquire into complaints suo motu or upon petition from any person
• Call for information or reports from the state government, any official, or any institution
• Summon witnesses and examine them under oath
• Requisition documents from any public office or court
• Visit any institution under the control of the state government — including jails, remand homes, women's homes, and mental health institutions — and inspect conditions
• Recommend to the state government that the victim be awarded immediate interim relief or compensation
• Recommend prosecution of the responsible official or departmental proceedings
• Approach the High Court or Supreme Court for relief

What it cannot do: UPSHRC cannot compel the state government to accept its recommendations. Its findings are in the nature of recommendations, not binding orders. However, the state government must inform UPSHRC of the action taken on each recommendation, and non-compliance can be reported to the legislature through the annual report.

Uttar Pradesh's Human Rights Context — Why UPSHRC Matters

Uttar Pradesh has historically generated a disproportionately large share of India's human rights complaints. Understanding this context helps explain both the importance of UPSHRC and why RTI-based accountability matters enormously.

Custodial deaths and torture: Deaths in police custody and allegations of custodial torture are among the most common categories of complaints. UP Police stations — particularly in districts with high crime rates — have been repeatedly cited by NHRC, courts, and human rights organisations for illegal detention, third-degree interrogation, and deaths in custody that are disguised as natural deaths or escape attempts.

Encounter killings: Uttar Pradesh has seen a significant number of killings in alleged police encounters, some of which have been disputed as extrajudicial executions. UPSHRC has jurisdiction to inquire into all such killings attributable to UP Police and state officials. This includes the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), which is a state-level armed police force under the Home Department of the UP government — it is not a Central Paramilitary Force.

Atrocities against SC/ST communities: Crimes and official atrocities targeting Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities — including harassment, illegal eviction, denial of welfare entitlements by state officials, and complicity of local police in violence — fall squarely within UPSHRC's mandate.

Bonded and child labour: The brick kiln belts of western and eastern UP, and the carpet-weaving industry of Mirzapur and Bhadohi, have long been associated with bonded labour and child labour. These are human rights violations involving state actors to the extent that the Labour Department, District Administration, and police fail to enforce the law or actively enable exploitative employers. UPSHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of such cases.

Women's safety and custodial rights of women: Complaints relating to custodial sexual violence, trafficking, neglect in women's short-stay homes and state rescue shelters, and denial of safe working conditions to women employees in state institutions are addressed by UPSHRC.

Prison conditions and undertrial detention: UP's jails are chronically overcrowded. Complaints about inhumane prison conditions, denial of medical care to prisoners, prolonged undertrial detention, and violence by jail staff are a significant part of the Commission's docket.

UPSHRC vs. NHRC — Jurisdiction Over UP Police and PAC

A common source of confusion when filing human rights complaints relating to Uttar Pradesh is which body to approach: UPSHRC or the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The general rule is straightforward: if the alleged violation is attributable to a state government official or state government body, the correct body is UPSHRC. If it involves a Central Government ministry, department, or Central Armed Police Force, the correct body is NHRC.

UP Police and PAC: The UP Police — including all its district police units, the Special Task Force (STF), the Crime Branch, and the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) — are state government forces under the Home Department of Uttar Pradesh. The PAC is not a Central force. It is a state-level armed reserve police force, distinct from the CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, and NSG, which are Central Paramilitary Forces under the Union Home Ministry. Complaints against the PAC — including allegations of brutality, custodial deaths in PAC custody, or atrocities during riot control — fall under UPSHRC's jurisdiction, not NHRC's.

NHRC jurisdiction in UP matters: NHRC is the appropriate body when the violation involves Central forces operating in UP — for instance, CRPF battalions deployed in UP for law and order, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody, NIA, or other Union instrumentalities. NHRC also handles cases that have already been referred to it by the Supreme Court or High Court, and may intervene in cases involving gross violations even at the state level when the state commission has not acted adequately.

Concurrent jurisdiction: There is nothing that prevents a complainant from filing before both UPSHRC and NHRC simultaneously. However, under the PHRA 1993, NHRC generally declines to inquire into complaints that are already before a state commission unless there is a compelling reason.

What You Can Request Through RTI

Complaint Registration and Current Status

If you have already filed a complaint with UPSHRC, the first and most important question is whether it was actually registered. The Commission receives a large volume of petitions and not all are registered as cases. RTI can establish:

• Whether your complaint was registered as a case and given a complaint number, or rejected — and if rejected, the stated reasons
• The current stage of proceedings: whether the matter is at the initial screening stage, the notice stage (notice issued to the respondent authority), the inquiry stage (an inquiry officer or reporting authority has been directed to submit a report), the hearing stage, or final disposal
• Whether a next hearing date has been fixed and when it is
• The cumulative history of dates of hearings held in the matter

Notices and Responses

When UPSHRC takes up a complaint, it typically issues a notice to the concerned authority — the Superintendent of Police of the district, the District Magistrate, the jail superintendent, or the relevant department — directing it to file a counter or a report. RTI can obtain:

• Copies of all notices issued by UPSHRC to the respondent authority in your complaint, with dates
• The response filed by the respondent authority, if any, and the date it was received
• Whether UPSHRC has sent reminders for non-response and the dates of such reminders

Orders, Directions, and Recommendations

The core output of UPSHRC in a resolved complaint is its order — which may include directions to pay compensation, directions to initiate departmental proceedings, directions to file a criminal case, or a finding that no human rights violation occurred. RTI can yield:

• Copies of interim orders or interim relief directions issued by UPSHRC during the pendency of the complaint
• The final order or recommendation issued by UPSHRC, including the findings on whether a human rights violation occurred and by whom
• Any direction regarding compensation — the amount recommended and to whom it is to be paid
• Any recommendation to initiate prosecution or departmental proceedings against a named official

Compliance Records

Obtaining UPSHRC's recommendation is only half the battle. Whether the state government actually complied is equally important. RTI can reveal:

• Whether the state government has filed a compliance report with UPSHRC after the recommendation was issued
• A copy of the compliance report stating what action was taken — whether compensation was paid, whether departmental proceedings were initiated, whether an FIR was registered
• In cases where compliance has not been reported, what steps UPSHRC has taken to follow up
• Aggregate data on how many cases have UPSHRC recommendations outstanding without compliance

Statistical and Annual Report Data

UPSHRC is required under PHRA 1993 to prepare an annual report for the state government, which is then laid before the Uttar Pradesh Legislature. This report contains consolidated data on the Commission's activities. RTI can be used to obtain:

• A copy of the UPSHRC Annual Report for any given year
• Total complaints received, registered, disposed of, and pending in a given year, with category-wise and district-wise breakups
• Number of cases in which compensation was recommended and the total amount
• Number of cases in which the state government has not complied with UPSHRC recommendations
• Suo motu cases taken up by UPSHRC during the year and their outcomes

What May Be Legitimately Withheld

RTI requests to UPSHRC are subject to the exemptions under Section 8 of the RTI Act. The most relevant:

Active inquiry proceedings: Under Section 8(1)(h), information that would impede an ongoing investigation or inquiry may be withheld. However, this exemption applies only while proceedings are genuinely active — once the inquiry is complete and an order passed, the exemption ceases and documents must be disclosed.

Victim privacy: Section 8(1)(j) protects personal information of victims, particularly in sensitive cases involving sexual violence or where the victim has sought anonymity. The identity and contact details of a victim may be legitimately withheld. However, the victim or the victim's legal representative has every right to request their own complaint file.

Third-party information: If a complaint names a specific official and that official's response to UPSHRC contains personal or service-related information, the CPIO may follow the third-party consultation procedure under Section 11 before disclosure. This may add time but does not prevent disclosure.

What cannot be withheld: The fact of registration or non-registration of a complaint, the stage of proceedings, whether notices were issued and to whom, UPSHRC's directions and recommendations (once the matter is disposed of), compliance status, and annual reports are all clearly disclosable information. Any refusal to disclose these is legally baseless.

How to File an RTI with UPSHRC

Online Filing

File through the central RTI portal at rtionline.gov.in. Search for "Uttar Pradesh State Human Rights Commission" or "UPSHRC" in the public authority list. If UPSHRC is listed on the UP state RTI portal managed by the state government, you may also use that portal. Pay the ₹10 fee online during the filing process and save the acknowledgement receipt.

By Post

Draft your application on plain paper, clearly address it to the CPIO, Uttar Pradesh State Human Rights Commission, Lucknow, and state at the top that it is an application under Section 6 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. Attach a ₹10 Indian Postal Order (IPO) drawn in favour of the CPIO/Accounts Officer, UPSHRC. Send by Speed Post or Registered Post to the Commission's office in Lucknow. Retain the postal receipt as proof of dispatch.

In Person

Deliver the application in person at the UPSHRC office in Lucknow during working hours. Carry two copies of the application. The receiving official should stamp and sign one copy as your acknowledgement. This is the most reliable method if you need a same-day confirmation.

Fee and Timeline

Application fee: ₹10 under the RTI (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005. BPL cardholders are fully exempt — attach a photocopy of the BPL card and explicitly state in the application that you claim the BPL exemption under Section 7(5) of the RTI Act.

Response timeline: Under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, UPSHRC must respond within 30 days of receiving the application. Where the information requested concerns the life or liberty of a person — for example, the status of a custodial death complaint, an inquiry into an encounter killing, or the condition of a person in state custody — the CPIO must respond within 48 hours under the proviso to Section 7(1).

If the CPIO needs to consult a third party under Section 11, the response period extends to 40 days.

First Appeal — Section 19(1)

If UPSHRC's CPIO fails to respond within 30 days, provides a partial, vague, or unsatisfactory answer, or refuses to supply information without adequate legal justification, file a First Appeal under Section 19(1) of the RTI Act.

The First Appeal is addressed to the First Appellate Authority (FAA) — a senior officer designated within UPSHRC who is superior in rank to the CPIO. You can ask the CPIO to identify the FAA in their response, or look for this information on UPSHRC's website.

Key procedural points:

• The appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date of the CPIO's decision or the expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever is applicable
• No fee is payable for the First Appeal
• The FAA must decide within 30 days, extendable to 45 days with written reasons
• In the appeal, state: the date of your original RTI application, its registration number, the information you sought, what response (if any) you received, and precisely why it is inadequate or illegal
• Attach copies of the original RTI application, the postal or online acknowledgement, and any response received from the CPIO

Second Appeal to the Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission (UPSIC)

If the First Appeal is not decided within the prescribed time or the outcome remains unsatisfactory, file a Second Appeal under Section 19(3) of the RTI Act with the Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission (UPSIC).

UPSIC is the state information commission constituted under Section 15 of the RTI Act, 2005 for Uttar Pradesh. It has appellate jurisdiction over all public authorities of the Uttar Pradesh state government, including UPSHRC.

Key procedural points:

• The Second Appeal must be filed within 90 days of the date of the FAA's decision or the date by which the decision should have been made
• No fee is payable
• UPSIC may summon the CPIO and the FAA, examine records, and issue directions for disclosure
• UPSIC can impose penalties under Section 20 directly on the CPIO
• UPSIC's orders are binding on UPSHRC

Important: The Central Information Commission (CIC) in New Delhi has no jurisdiction over UPSHRC or any other Uttar Pradesh state public authority. UPSHRC is a state body — CIC cannot hear second appeals arising from RTI applications filed with it. All second appeals must go to UPSIC.

Penalty Under Section 20

The Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission has the power under Section 20 of the RTI Act to impose a personal monetary penalty on the CPIO if it determines that the CPIO:

• Refused to receive an RTI application without justification
• Failed to furnish information within the prescribed time limit
• Knowingly gave incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information
• Destroyed information that was the subject of a request
• Obstructed supply of information in any manner

The penalty is ₹250 per day of default, subject to a maximum of ₹25,000. UPSIC can also recommend disciplinary action against the defaulting CPIO under the relevant service rules. These are personal penalties — they come out of the CPIO's own pocket, not the Commission's funds — and they serve as a significant deterrent against arbitrary non-disclosure.

Practical Tips for Filing an Effective RTI with UPSHRC

Always quote your complaint number: If you have filed a complaint with UPSHRC, its assigned case or complaint number is your most important identifier. Always cite it in your RTI application. This prevents the CPIO from providing aggregate or deflecting responses and ensures the response is anchored to your specific file.

Be document-specific: "Tell me the status of my complaint" is too vague. Ask specifically: "Provide a copy of the notice issued to the Superintendent of Police, District, in Complaint No. X and any response received from that office." Specific document requests are much harder to deflect than open-ended status queries.

Invoke the 48-hour provision when appropriate: If your RTI relates to an ongoing custodial detention, a person in custody who may be in danger, a complaint about custodial death or torture, or any matter directly involving the life and liberty of a named person, explicitly state in your application: "This request involves information related to the life and liberty of Name and is accordingly governed by the 48-hour response requirement under the proviso to Section 7(1) of the RTI Act." This provision cannot legally be ignored by the CPIO.

Request both proceedings and compliance: Filing two targeted RTI applications — one asking about the stage of proceedings (notices, hearings, orders) and a separate one asking about compliance with any recommendations already issued — gives you a complete picture of how the Commission handled your case and whether its directions were actually implemented.

Use RTI to track PAC-related cases carefully: Because there is persistent confusion about whether PAC matters go to UPSHRC or NHRC, ensure your RTI application is clearly addressed to UPSHRC when seeking information about cases involving the PAC. The PAC is a state force and UPSHRC is the correct forum. If a CPIO at UPSHRC tries to redirect you to NHRC for PAC matters, that redirection is legally incorrect and should be challenged in the First Appeal.

Annual reports are public documents: UPSHRC's annual reports are submitted to the state legislature and are not confidential. If UPSHRC refuses to supply an annual report under RTI, challenge that refusal in the First Appeal. Annual reports are among the least exemptable documents held by any public authority.

Non-response is a deemed refusal: If 30 days pass without any response from UPSHRC's CPIO, that silence amounts to a deemed refusal under Section 7(2) of the RTI Act. Record the exact date of filing and the exact date the 30-day period expires. File your First Appeal immediately after that date, citing both dates clearly. Non-response by a human rights commission is particularly difficult to defend before UPSIC and is likely to attract Section 20 scrutiny.

Cross-reference with the concerned department: If your complaint involves a specific district police unit or state department, consider filing a parallel RTI with that department asking about any inquiry it conducted at UPSHRC's direction and any compliance report it submitted to the Commission. Comparing the two sets of responses can reveal discrepancies — and discrepancies are often where accountability begins.

Link RTI to legal proceedings: If you are simultaneously pursuing a habeas corpus petition, a writ petition, or a PIL before the Allahabad High Court that involves the same facts, RTI responses from UPSHRC can provide independent documentary evidence of the Commission's findings and the state government's compliance record. RTI-obtained documents are admissible records and can substantially strengthen your legal case.