India signed the UNCAT and has not ratified yet, our Supreme Court had brought about glorious jurisprudence highlighting the many problems with the country’s torture culture. In Raghbir Singh v. State of Haryana (1980), the Court was “deeply disturbed by the diabolical recurrence of police torture resulting in a terrible scare in the minds of common citizens that their lives and liberty are under a new peril when the guardians of the law gore human rights to death.” These sentiments were revisited in Francis Coralie Mullin v. Union Territory of Delhi (1981) and Sheela Barse v. State of Maharashtra (1987), where the Court condemned cruelty and torture as violation of Article 21 of Constitution of India. This interpretation of Article 21 is consistent with the principles contained in the UNCAT. The Government of India is not likely to take up the torture law. Indeed, the manner in which the torture bill has been treated reveals a betrayal of the people of India by successive governments. India has twice given promises at UPR sessions for ratification of the CAT and still the PREVENTION OF TORTURE BILL, 2017 is also pending at upper house of parliament. The Law Commission of India has recommended the Central Government to ratify the UNCAT and frame a standalone anti-torture law directly making the State responsible for any injury inflicted by its agents on citizens. The National Human Rights Commission and UPR of Human Rights Council have been strongly urging the government to recognize torture as a separate crime and codify the punishment in a separate penal law.
Analysis of the individual cases of torture handled by PVCHR illustrates the critical failings in a dysfunctional public justice system in India. Prison conditions in India are appalling with all the known symptoms of poor correctional systems. There is no unified correctional system in India but many different systems in the individual states. The biggest problems are found in the district prisons. Dalits, Tribal Groups, and Religious Minorities: Mob violence by extremist groups in collaboration of fascist regime against minority communities and dalit continued. PVCHR in collaboration with UNVFVT provided psychological support to more than 50 %women facing torture. All these are indicative of the extent of the problem which proves that human rights initiative in India lacks gender and caste perspective of Torture. This project is multi layers and multi – dimensional initiative for providing direct support to the survivors of torture. The main emphasis of the project will be providing psycho – social support based on active listening with empathy to the survivors and their family members, which will create resilience and break the culture of silence and eliminate the fear and empower survivor to lead normal life. Thus, testimonial therapy offers a platform for victims to narrate their suffering and transform their pain, and not only get healed, but be the crusaders in saving others, whether the frame of reference is existential, psychodynamic, psycho-legal, spiritual, political, cognitive-behavioural, or narrative.
During the tenure of one year initiative of PVCHR and United Nations Voluntary Fund for Torture Victims provided psycho – social support through testimonial therapy to 124 survivors (64 Male and 60 Female) were supported through the testimonial therapy. In which 99 survivors are primary and 25 secondary victims. 44 folk schools and honor ceremonies was organized for social re- integration. In the ceremony 1234 people (601 Male and 633 Female) participated. 24 individual ceremonies & 95 group honor ceremonies were organized. The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) provided livelihood support to the survivor of torture as holistic rehabilitation. Distribution of seasonal vegetable seeds to 2261 families in Varanasi, Sonbhadra and Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh. Approx. 36536 kg of vegetables were grown in summer season. 2523 kg of vegetables were sold in the market. Still the project will do the calculation of the vegetable grown in winter season. 26775 INR were earned and spent on education, purchasing of household thing, clothes for children and their education. Goat were distributed to 27 families (25 families received female goat and 2 male goat). During the distribution of goat, a program was organized in Anei village. In the program many Governments block level official (Health official, Animal doctor, teachers) and elected representative were present. Created seed bank in Anei for providing seed to the community member with charging nominal charge. 40 fruit and timber plants were planted in Anei village of Uttar Pradesh. The 80 percent beneficiaries of the initiatives are women.Ghurahu, a day labourer from Varanasi and member of India’s most marginalised caste, knows all too well the link between poverty and torture. Unlawfully arrested and beaten unconscious by police, Ghurahu’s healing began with talking therapy at IRCT member the PVCHR. But his life was also improved by some very practical assistance: Seeds to plant his own kitchen garden. Now, instead of taking rotten scraps from the market, Ghurahu has enough fruit and vegetables to feed his family .The Livelihoods initiatives empower individual survivors to regain control of their and their family’s socio-economic situation, thereby restoring the agency lost during their torture experience. For many torture survivors, successful livelihoods initiatives thus present fulfilling life projects that both enable and empower them to heal.
The project did 278 meta legal intervention in 171 cases with allied system i.e., Commission, Chief Minister, Police officials, District Magistrate. More than 72,52,000 INR (88.900 USD) awarded in 19 cases of torture. The project has also observed UN day against torture through providing 45 trees to the survivors.
Honor Ceremony is third session of testimonial therapy a brief narrative therapy. This is used as tool for holistic rehabilitation and re- integration of the survivor back in the society, in this process testimony of the survivor is read (the place is decided by the survivor) and later the survivor is honored with cotton shawl and colorful print out of his testimonies.
This process also prepares the survivor for deposing it statement before concerned authorities and courts. Folk School is a tool for developing collective healing process, breaking culture of silence, critical thinking, self-awareness and building self-esteem and peer support. Legal Intervention is formal appeal is made in the court. Meta – legal intervention is formal complaint made for getting justice, awarding compensation and protection to the survivor of torture with Human Rights Institution such as National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and other allied system. In India there is no law on torture and it is still pending in the upper house of the parliament. So, we are using this instrument as cost – effective and less time consuming for providing justice, protection to the survivors. NHRC is working as a court for the poor.