New Delhi, February 19 – The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) warned on Thursday of action against individuals and NGOs that have registered themselves under names deceptively similar to its own, and directed all states to take action against them, an official said.
The NHRC has requested action-taken reports from all states within two weeks, the official said in a statement.
Recently, the Commission came across an NGO registered as 'National Human Rights Council (NHRC)', reportedly registered with the Government of NCT of Delhi in 2022, according to complaints received from individuals, the NHRC said.
The rights panel statement said this NGO's publicity material claims that it is "Registered by the Government of NITI Aayog", "Registered by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, India", "Registered under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India", and is associated with the "Andhra Pradesh Human Rights Council Association".
A visiting card apparently related to the said organization also bears the inscription "Venkatesh, State Chairman, Karnataka", the NHRC statement said.
Considering the gravity of the matter, the Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the issue. It has observed that the name adopted and the designation "Chairman" is misleading and creates confusion, it said.
Deceptive nomenclature misleads the public into believing that these organizations are either part of the National Human Rights Commission or recognised/authorised by it to deal with human rights issues, it said.
The Commission believes that the continuation of such illusory names may erode public trust, lead to misuse of authority, possible misappropriation of funds, and create confusion for public authorities in distinguishing between a statutory body like the NHRC and NGOs, the statement said.
The NHRC said that it had previously expressed concern through various platforms regarding the misuse of its name and logo and had informed the concerned authorities to take action against the people behind such dubious organizations.
"However, violations continue to come to our notice," it said.
Therefore, the Commission has issued notices to the Chief Secretaries and Director Generals of Police of all the States/UTs to identify such NGOs/individuals misusing the name of the NHRC or using names deceptively similar to it and to take immediate legal action within two weeks, including cancellation of registrations obtained in violation of norms, the statement said.
They have also been asked to sensitize registering authorities to remain vigilant and take necessary action against defaulters, it said.
Additionally, in the instant matter of the NHRC, the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Karnataka, and the Chief Secretary and the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, have been further directed to submit reports within two weeks regarding the action taken against the NGO, which has its office in Karnataka and is registered in Delhi.
