Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday described the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) as a custodian of the Constitution’s promise of justice and human dignity, asserting that its true measure of effectiveness lies not in statistical achievements but in its ability to reach those whose grievances often go unheard.
Addressing the Commission’s 33rd Foundation Day celebrations, organised alongside a one-day conference on “Water – The Elixir of Life”, the CJI reflected on the NHRC’s evolving role in protecting human rights and ensuring that constitutional guarantees translate into meaningful safeguards for society’s most vulnerable sections.
“Institutions, like people, are best understood on their birthdays. We look back at where they began, we look around at where they stand, and we look ahead at what they owe the people they serve,” he said, underscoring the importance of institutional introspection and accountability.
Tracing the Commission’s journey since its establishment by Parliament 33 years ago to safeguard human dignity, the CJI observed that it had evolved into a trusted forum for individuals seeking redress for human rights violations. Highlighting its performance, he said the NHRC had registered more than 24 lakh cases and disposed of over 23 lakh, recording a disposal rate exceeding 98 per cent.
The CJI, however, emphasised that the effectiveness of a human rights institution cannot be determined by figures alone. Its real test, he suggested, lies in whether it can provide meaningful assistance to individuals who lack the resources, influence or institutional access necessary to assert their rights.
“If the Constitution is the promise, the Commission is one of its keepers. It goes where the court cannot easily go; it listens to those who cannot easily speak, and it can act on its own without waiting to be asked,” he said.
Addressing criticism of the NHRC’s recommendatory powers, the CJI invoked the metaphor of a lighthouse to explain the Commission’s continuing relevance. Its purpose, he observed, was not necessarily to eliminate every instance of injustice but to illuminate the path for those confronting it. The institution’s influence, he added, derives substantially from its credibility and moral authority.
“Its moral authority is like a bank balance. It is built slowly, deposit by deposit, and it can be spent very quickly,” he cautioned, highlighting the importance of preserving public confidence through institutional integrity and consistent engagement with those seeking protection.
The CJI placed the experiences of the most disadvantaged at the centre of the human rights discourse, asserting that constitutional guarantees must be evaluated by their impact on those most susceptible to exclusion and exploitation.
“A right that works for the powerful but fails the powerless is not a right in true sense. It is a privilege with better branding,” he said.
Illustrating the point, he referred to undertrial prisoners who have never met their advocates, migrant workers without documentation, elderly persons abandoned by their families, persons with disabilities confronted by inaccessible institutions, and women who labour from dawn to dusk. His observations underscored the need to bridge the gap between the formal recognition of rights and their effective realisation in everyday life.
Turning to the conference theme, the CJI described access to water as an essential condition for the enjoyment of human rights, rather than an isolated entitlement. He emphasised that access to clean water is intrinsically linked to human dignity and the fulfilment of several other fundamental needs.
“Human rights are not abstractions. They are as concrete as a glass of clean water in the hands of a child, and as urgent as the thirst that child feels,” he said.
Distinguishing between the creation of infrastructure and the actual delivery of essential services, the CJI cautioned that the installation of a water connection does not, by itself, guarantee meaningful access to water.
“A mere tap is not the same as access to water. A pipe that runs dry cannot fulfil the promise that the pipe represents,” he observed.
He also highlighted the intergenerational implications of decisions concerning natural resources, stressing that the responsibility to safeguard access to water extends beyond present-day needs to the interests of future generations.
“The person at the end of the line is not necessarily someone living among us today. It may also be the child who has not yet been born,” he said.
The CJI also commended the launch of the NHRC India mobile application, describing it as a transformative initiative that empowers citizens by bringing the Commission’s services within easier reach. The digital platform, he noted, represents a step towards making human rights mechanisms more accessible and facilitating citizen engagement.
As the NHRC marked 33 years of its existence, the CJI’s address reinforced the proposition that the legitimacy of institutions entrusted with protecting constitutional values rests not merely on their formal mandate or administrative performance, but on their ability to uphold human dignity and secure meaningful protection for those whose voices are least likely to be heard.
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