Date: 13/05/2008
Dear Friends,
Dept of Political Science Goa University in collaboration with the North Goa
Legal Services Authority, Panaji, and Institute Menezes Braganza is
organising a lecture titled "Religion and Human Rights", by Ms Sheela Barse,
award winning journalist and celebrated human rights activist at Institute
Menezes Braganza on 17th May from 5.00 pm onwards.
The lecture which is sure to evoke animated discussion will be chaired by
Judge Desmond D'Costa, District and Sessions Court, Panaji.
Ms Sheela Barse is a senior activist and award-winning journalist. She has
been a member of a number of government committees at the state and the
national levels. For close to two decades, she has fought public interest
litigations on social justice. In her lecture she proposes to discuss the
use of religion in matters of state and in politics, violence in the name of
religion and conversions, all of which are much debated issues.
Through a tireless and pioneering campaign she was responsible for the
chargesheeting of the paedophile Freddy Peats in December 1991 and his
eventual conviction. The Margao based Peats ran a bustling shelter home,
Gurukul Orphamily, in South Goa. He started out in Colva and then, in the
mid-1980s, he moved to Fatorda, near Margao, Goa's commercial capital and
exploited young boys.
In September 2004 on a petition filed by her, the Bombay high court had
allowed Sheela Barse to intervene in the matter pertaining to malnutrition
deaths in Vidarbha as well as in northern Maharashtra and asked the state
government to study her recommendations to tackle the situation in tribal
areas on a war footing.
In the Sheela Sheela Barse V. State Of Maharashtra 1987 SCC(Cr) 759, she
asked that she be given the right to interview prisoners to ascertain prison
conditions. Incidentally she argued for this right under Articles 19(1)(a)
and 21 which she contended guarantee to every citizen reasonable access to
information about the institutions that formulate, enact implement and
enforce the laws of the land. Every citizen has a right to receive such
information through public institutions including the media as it is
physically impossible for every citizen to be informed about all issues of
public importance individually and personally. As a journalist, she
petitioned that she had a right to collect and disseminate information to
citizens, nearly 18 years before the Right to Information saw the light of
day.
In the Sheela Barse (II) and Others vs. Union of India and others PIL of
1986 she argued for keeping children who had committed offences out of jail.
The court ruled that child offenders should not be kept in jails and they
cases regarding child offenders should be diposed of in a time bound manner.
If this were not done, the prosecution against the child would be liable to
be quashed. The Court also held that it would be desirable if the Central
Government initiated a Parliamentary Legislation on the subject of Children's
Act.
In the SC judgement in Sheela Barse v State of Maharashtra the court ruled
that woman suspects must be kept in separate lock up in the police station.
They should not be kept where male suspects are detained.
Thanking you.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Aureliano Fernandes
Head - Dept of Political Science.
Dr. Aureliano Fernandes
Head of Department
Department of Political Science
Goa University
Taleigao Plateau
403206 GOA - INDIA
