Out of Court by Soli J. Sorabjee: Human rights, Justice Lentin & Elian Gonzalez

violations of human rights generally take place by action of the state or its instrumentalities. however, non-state actors can also seriously infringe fundamental rights. during the peak of militancy in punjab and also in jammu & kashmir, freedom of the press came under severe onslaught. extremist groups subjected newspaper proprietors and journalists to violent attacks on their press and persons if the newspaper in question did not toe their line or published some matter which was perceived to be pro-establishment. unfortunately, courts could not effectively combat this menace. a recent landmark decision of the european court of human rights at strasbourg has recognised that persecution which drives people into exile can emanate not only from governments but from different sources, including paramilitary or rebel groups. the decision was rendered in the case of a sri lankan who had fled to the united kingdom from germany where he faced deportation after his asylum claim had been rejected on the ground that the man would have nothing to fear from the sri lankan government if he returned, even though he feared persecution from non-state agents. the court ruled that deportation of asylum seekers to situations where they could face persecution violated their human rights, regardless of whether the oppressors were governments or other groups. this decision endorses the consistent stand taken in this behalf by unhcr. the united nations human rights committee established under the international covenant on civil and political rights (iccpr) has made substantial contribution to human rights jurisprudence especially by the general comments it has issued on several human rights guaranteed by the iccpr. in its recent general comment the committee has adopted ground-breaking guidelines, according to which states are required to adopt a gender-conscious approach to the rights guaranteed in the covenant. in other words to read the rights in the covenant with the perspective of gender to see how the rights could be violated if the victim is a woman. this has resulted in a new list of violations that had not been considered before. for example, the committee has found that countries whose norms prevent women from leaving their homes without their husband's permission violated their guaranteed freedom from arbitrary detention. these progressive decisions brighten the otherwise depressing global human rights scenario. it was sad to hear the passing away of justice bhaktawar lentin, former judge of the bombay high court. i had known bomi since 1953 when i commenced practice in the chambers of the great jamshedji kanga. bomi was a junior to an eminent criminal lawyer ka somjee, whose chambers were next to kanga's. he was warm-hearted, had an amiable disposition and was a gentleman to the core. envy, the besetting sin of some eminent lawyers, did not consume him. independence and courage were the hallmark of his judicial career. these were amply demonstrated in his judgment in the cement scandal case in the early eighties in which his indictment of antulay, the then powerful chief minister of maharashtra, led to his resignation. justice lentin's official probe into the jj hospital glycerol case, in which eleven people had lost their lives because of contaminated glycerol, resulted in the indictment of the then health minister, bhai sawant, and a complete overhaul of the state's food and drug administration. his decision as chairman of censor board not to ban the exhibition of the movie, bandit queen, which was upheld by the supreme court displayed his liberal values in the matter of freedom of expression. bomi has left us. and one more friendly and familiar face has departed. when you are visiting the united states give up all hope of knowing what happens in the world outside america. some years ago the media channels were dominated by o.j. simpson, thereafter by the nauseating monica lewinsky episode. this year it is poor dear elian gonzalez who stares you in the face with varying looks of terror at being snatched by federal guards and happiness when united with his father. it is tragic that a simple issue of custody, where the welfare of the child should be the paramount consideration, has been politicised and trivialised. one wonders what impact the traumatic events the child has undergone will have on his personality. let us wish him happiness wherever he finds it.