Legal Cases
SEHER’s legal interventions have created lasting impact in a range of human-rights cases. Here you can find coverage of our latest work and learn more about the status of cases we have been involved in.
Cases at State Human Rights Commission
1. Water Supply Contamination for Community in Dadar Society [COMPLETED]
Issue: Over 60 residents of a Dadar based colony suffered from severe jaundice due to supply of contaminated water by BMC. Their repeated requests to the officials went unheard for months. SEHER intervention has lead to orders calling for compensation to be paid to the residents and for policy changes at the city level.
Mumbai Mirror Case Coverage
Mumbai Mirror Order Coverage
2. Pension Delay for 3,000+ Elderly Artists in Maharashtra [COMPLETED]
Issue: Delay by the State Pension Department in granting pension to 3,000 aged folk artists across Maharashtra in India. SEHER intervention has lead to speedier disbursal of this process, setting up of a toll free helpline number, linking of this system with other state welfare services to prevent document verification at individual levels by each departments.
The Indian Express Order Coverage
3. Newborn Suffers Burns from JJ Hospital Equipment [ACTIVE]
Issue: Six day old baby girl suffers severe burns after a machine treating her malfunctioned due to a short-circuit. SEHER intervention has called for a detailed report from the hospital about this incident.
4. Sexual Harassment Protest by Students in Palghar Government Hostel [ACTIVE]
Issue: Over 300 tribal students staying at the Palghar government hostel went on a hunger strike protest against the incidents of sexual harassment that the female students were facing by some locals. The students were also protesting against the poor food quality at the hostels and about the delay in receiving financial aid from the state that sponsors their courses.
5. Police Brutality Against Muslim Youths in Mumbai [ACTIVE]
Issue: Two minor Muslim boys were detained overnight at the Bandra Police station. They were severely beaten by the police constables who also passed derogatory comments against their religion.
The India Express Case Coverage
6. Fourteen Lose Eyesight after Surgery in Maharashtra’s Washim [ACTIVE]
Issue: Fourteen patients lost their eyesight after a botched up surgery to remove their cataract at a district hospital in Maharashtra’s Washim. SEHER intervention has lead to a detailed state level inquiry committee being set up to investigate this incidence of medical negligence.
7. Fashion Designer Claims Detained and Tortured by Police for False Confession [ACTIVE]
Issue: A 22 year old woman was illegally detained by a police station in Mumbai and assaulted. She was forced by the police to confess to theft that she says she didn’t commit.
8. Another Resident Dies in Accident at Vaitarna Rail Bridge Crossing [ACTIVE]
Issue: Railway bridge no. 92 over Vaitarna creek is the only infrastructure linking the Wadhiv village with the rest of the city. There are no roads or pedestrian bridges connecting the village. The railway bridge is several feet high and has series of metal rods running parallel to each other with massive gaps in the middle. This petition at the court deals with several deaths and injuries that have occurred here due to the state’s failure to build a bridge despite several requests by the residents of this area.
9. Spike in Malnourishment as Six-Meals-A-Day Scheme Rolled Back in Palghar [ACTIVE]
Issue: The roll back of the six day meal in the district of Palghar leads to severe increase in malnourishment within children. Lack of funding has lead to several other issue.
10. Sena Workers, Aids Slap Kissing Couples [COMPLETED]
Issue: Case of moral policing by members of a political party. The case has now been closed. No action taken by the court due to settlement of the incident between the aggrieved party and the accused.
11. Catholics Protest in Mumbai’s Bandra Over Demolition Of Holy Cross [COMPLETED]
Issue: Case was about the demolition of a 100 year old cross. Matter closed since the case has been appealed at a higher court.
Cases at National Human Rights Commission
1. Indian Factories Found Endangering Seamstresses’ Health with Illegal Pills [ACTIVE]
Issue: Case based on Reuters India investigation which reveals that Tamil Nadu’s garment industries were giving their female factory workers unlabelled drugs at work to stop period pains (thus reducing the leaves taken by workers due to period related issues). This has overtime lead to severe health complications for the women who consumed the pill. An investigation was conducted by Directorate General Factory Advice Service & Labour Institutes (DGFASLI) across the entire state of Tamil Nadu along 228 factories and it was found that unlabelled drugs and injections had been administered to women.
2. Dussehra Turns Tragic in Amritsar as Fifty Crushed Under Train [ACTIVE]
Issue: Fifty people were killed when a crowd of Dussehra revellers that had spilled onto the rail tracks while watching the burning of the effigy were run over by a train.
3. Why Many Women in Maharashtra’s Beed District Have No Wombs [ACTIVE]
Issue: Incidents of mass hysterectomy practise among the female migrant labourers working in the sugarcane fields. The women said that they underwent the surgery to avoid having to take days off from work, due to the fact that the fields do not have accessible, clean bathrooms which makes it difficult for them to work while menstruating. The Maharashtra government has now ordered for an inquiry into this incident and the investigation report is soon be released.
4. Two Babies Die of Gastro in City Orphanage [ACTIVE]
Issue: Two babies die of gastroenteritis and four others were hospitalised from a privately run orphanage in Mumbai.
5. Baby Falls into Dustbin after Unattended Delivery, Dies [COMPLETED]
Issue: Baby falls off the operation table and dies. No doctors or nurses were present during the delivery despite of repeated requests.
Order: A criminal complaint has been launched against the negligent authorities. As a result of SEHER’s intervention the mother was also paid a compensation of Rs. 2,00,000/- by the NHRC.
6. Denied Road To Cremation Ground, Dalits Lower Body Off Tamil Nadu Bridge [ACTIVE]
Issue: Dalits lower the body off a bridge as they were denied access to the cremation ground. The case was taken up as an urgent matter by the NHRC at their open hearing in Chennai recently.
7. No Doctors at PHC, Two Tribal Boys Die of Snakebite [ACTIVE]
Issue: Two boys die of a snakebite in Maharashtra as there were no doctors present at the primary health care centre to administer the anti venom injection.
8. Three Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Kannur Jail [COMPLETED]
Issue: Three prisoners go on hunger strike in the jail to protest against the jail authorities who they say have denied them access to food and water. NHRC has asked the concerned authorities to take appropriate action.
9. ‘Menstruation Centre’ in Uttarakhand Village Built with Government Funds [ACTIVE]
Issue: A village panchayat in Uttarakhand uses the development funds allotted by the state to build a house to keep the women of the village in while they are menstruating. The house has now been shut and converted into a women development centre where they are trained on infant and maternal care. The case is still ongoing however and NHRC has directed the state to provide further details about the building of this house.
10. After Roti-Salt Meal, Another Shocker from UP as Students Bring Own Plates to Avoid Eating with Dalits [ACTIVE]
Issue: Students in a government school in Uttar Pradesh bring their own plates so that they do not have to share the same plates used by other students some of whom are from scheduled caste and tribes.
11. UP: Couple Set Themselves Ablaze Inside Mathura Police Station After Failing to Get Justice on Harassment Complaint; Critical [ACTIVE]
Issue: A couple in Uttar Pradesh set themselves on fire as a form of protest outside the police station in Mathura. They claim that the police have failed to register an FIR in their case where they are alleging severe harassment by a local resident of their area.
12. Seventy Four Students Hospitalised for Itching in Nashik [ACTIVE]
Issue: Seventy four students of a Nashik school were rushed to the hospital after they complained of constant itching on their hands.