West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has appointed a 2-member fee to analyze the Pegasus ‘snoopgate’. The fee is to be headed by former choose of the Supreme Court Madan Lokur. The different member within the workforce is a former choose of the Calcutta High Court.
West Bengal Government Announces Two Member Inquiry Commission to Probe #PegasusRow Former SC Judge Justice Madan Lokur to go the Commission Former Calcutta High Court Judge Jyotirmay Bhattacharya is the Other Member @MamataOfficial #MadanLokur #Pegasus pic.twitter.com/NCdbYN1iWP— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) July 26, 2021
Justice Madan Lokur is a senior member of an NGO funded by the US State Department. He is an Executive Committee member of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI).
Source: CHRI Website
In 2021, the CHRI has obtained contributions from the US Department of State (American Embassy), the British High Commission in New Delhi, the High Commission of Canada amongst others.
The goal for the contributions from the US was “Advocacy and Outreach Programme for Detainees in North Eastern States of India”, for the UK it was “Research on Pace of Justice issues in India and their impact on Foreign National detainees and victims of crime” and the Canadian contribution was for “Reimbursement of Expenditure”.
Apart from them, the CHRI has additionally obtained contributions from the Kaleidoscope Diversity Trust, Friedrich Naumman Stiftung – Germany, The Hanns Seidel Foundation and others.
Source: CHRI
Justice Madan Lokur was one of many 4 judges who had held a press convention towards then CJI Dipak Misra in 2018. As a member of CHRI, he had signed an announcement together with different so-called ’eminent residents’ towards the continued strategy of NRC and detention centres.
The assertion learn, “As concerned citizens, we look to the Supreme Court to reaffirm India’s constitutional and international obligations to rights on sensitive issues. That is why we are disappointed by recent statements by the Chief Justice of India on a complex matter relating to illegal detention and deportation, without heeding India’s own constitutional and international obligations.”
“While advocating greater detention of suspected ‘foreigners’, the Chief Justice brushed aside the Assam Chief Secretary with a stinging admonition for proposing a methodology for the release of a handful of foreign prisoners who had been in detention beyond their term of sentence for illegal entry. This was especially of concern for the case concerned the willful violation of the human rights of hundreds of detainees who were languishing in what the court itself accepts are “inhuman conditions”. We regard these remarks as unlucky,” it added.
Madan Lokur had lately joined the Ashoka University as an ombudsperson. On Saturday, he voiced his objections towards the UAPA regulation. “Look at the emotional, psychological impact on his family, him… His children… They will go to school where classmates will say your father is a ‘terrorist’ for something he has not done… We are not looking at the mental aspect,” he had mentioned on the UAPA at a digital convention.