Indian People's Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights
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| Formation | 5 June 1993 |
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| Type | NGO |
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Region served
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India |
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Parent organisation
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Human Rights Law Network |
| Website | www |
The Indian People's Tribunal (IPT), also called the Indian People's Tribunal on Environmental and Human Rights or Independent People's Tribunal, was set up by the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) on 5 June 1993. The IPT is an unofficial body led by retired judges who form a panel that conducts public enquiries into human rights and environmental abuses. It provides an alternative outlet for the victims faced with official obstruction and delays. Since being founded the IPT has conducted numerous investigations into cases of relocation of rural people to make way for dams or parks, eviction of slum dwellers, industrial pollution and communal or state-sponsored violence.
The parent body of the Indian People's Tribunal is the Human Rights Law Network, a collective of lawyers and social activists who promote human rights in India and neighbouring countries. The objectives of the IPT when it was founded in 1993 were to "encourage victim communities to fight for their rights ... highlight the imperatives of equity and human dignity in the search for true development ... and highlight the environmental and human rights abuses being perpetuated on communities and individuals by the ruling elite in pursuit of unsustainable 'development' objectives". The IPT was to be a permanent body that would fight the inertia and bureaucracy of the government and the legal system through public-interest litigation and public awareness campaigns.
The IPT acts as a "people's court", an alternative to the formal justice system, conducting investigations on many types of issue and recommending remedial actions. It gives a voice to the people affected. Retired judges head the IPT. They are given direction by a council of experts. Grassroots organisations throughout India provide support. In a typical enquiry a team will visit the site and meet with affected people, then conduct a public hearing where all involved parties are asked to give information. Later, the IPT issues a formal report with findings and recommendations.
In 1994 the IPT investigated the Rajaji National Park, where the authorities wanted to remove the Gujjars who had traditionally lived in the forest. The tribunal met forest officials, scientists, NGO staff and the Gujjars. A former supreme court justice, P.S. Poti, prepared the IPT report, which recommended that the Gujjars be allowed to stay but assisted if they decided to leave. This would require a change to the laws, which specified that no humans could live in a national park. Justice Poti interviewed the many stakeholders, showed the complexity of the issues, and showed that moving the residents out of the forest would not guarantee its survival.
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