HC dismisses bail pleas of "rights activists"

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court today dismissed anticipatory bail petitions of 17 persons, who were running NGOs "Human Rights Organizations" in Tamil Nadu and making the public to believe that they were authorized to entertain complaints of human rights violations and take action against the violators.
Justice P N Prakash, dismissing a batch of 14 petitions, said the charges against them were of serious nature as they had indulged in cheating, violated the circulars of the National Human Rights Commission that nobody should use the words such as human rights organisations.
Some organisations had collected money using their letter pad and also indulged in conducting Kangaroo courts.

Their activities came to light when one Wilson, who was running "Manitha Urimai Kazhagam" (human rights organization), allegedly intervened in a dispute between the Secretary of an educational institute and a teacher in Tirunelveli district and physically prevented the school bus from moving out of the school.
The counsel for one of the complainants said that a very bad picture was being projected by such organisations to the western world as if human rights violations are rampant in India.
The promoters of such organizatios claimed to have prominent persons, including Judges, as patrons and misused their names, and conducted Kangaroo courts.

The judge said that in some cases, the petitioners are absconding. Some had floated "international organization" and falsely claimed they had been affiliated to the United Nations Human Rights Organisation. Some of the promoters were advocates and they could not claim that they were not aware that they should not use such names.
They had used logo, letter pads, photos with retired judges and eminent persons to threaten people.
The petitioners, including Senthil Bose and Lawrance Ganapathi Subramanian, were facing serious allegations and they need to be interrogated in custody, the judge said dismissing their anticipatory bail pleas and also criminal original petititions.